True Colors
by TheEnvy
Summary: Suffering from a strange illness, Lucian hasn't accomplished much during his lonely life. All he can really take pride in is his mother Sabrina, who is the Mistress of Psychic Pokemon and Saffron City's illustrious Gym Leader. Everything changes when the Police show up at his door late one night asking questions. (Action, adventure, romance, mysteries, and the unexpected).
1. Chapter 1: Knock, Knock

**Chapter 1: Knock, Knock!**

One of Lucian's favorite hobbies was reading. On his piddling list of treasured activities, reading came second only to sleeping.

'At least ten hours a day,' that was his modus operandi and rarely did he deviate. Not that he had very many options. Snoozing like a Snorlax was a distraction to the rest of his life which, at the moment, wasn't all that engaging and hadn't been for about as long as he could remember. As a bonus, sleep also made the hands on the face of time crawl by a little faster.

If today sucked, maybe tomorrow would be better. Lucian liked to think of himself as an optimist.

Sleeping. Or trying to. That's precisely what he was currently in the process of doing. Unfortunately, his bladder beckoned some time ago, rousing him from sleep's sweet embrace.

Lazy as a Slakoth, it took him maybe a half-hour to drag himself out of bed. But who was counting?

Heavy rain battered against the bathroom skylights above. Not a glint of light funneled through.

"What time is it?" Lucian mumbled drowsily. He couldn't tell if it was the dead of night or just a dreary day. Not that it really mattered.

As the water whooshed in the toilet, he thought he heard something downstairs.

Tiptoeing down the spiral staircase, he found the dark-haired intruder in the kitchen. Standing with her back turned behind the stove, he noticed that she was armed with a spatula.

He sneaked up behind her.

"Boo!"

Releasing a sharp scream, the intruder pirouetted like a ballerina and glanced down at his mirth with disapproving eyes. Despite their being the same pair he had known his entire life, the cerise hue of her irises never ceased to amaze him.

"Hello, mother."

She tried to stifle a grin, but failed miserably. "Lucy, you scared the crap of me," she said, sounding a mixture of cross and happy. "What are you doing up so early?"

"About that," he said, yawning and shamelessly scratching the crack of his ass. "Is it early in the morning or early in the evening?"

She laughed with amusement, though Lucian noted they were strained with exhaustion. "It's just past six." When he began pouting, she giggled again. "Sorry, sleepyhead, silly me. Six in the p.m.!"

"P.M.," Lucian echoed, his eyebrows skyrocketing. Debating whether he should ask, he frowned. After a moment of consideration, he decided to do it. "How long have you been home?"

She looked hesitant to provide an answer. "I got off a few hours ago," she admitted after a few seconds.

His lips sank further. All this time he had been lying in bed, wide-fucking-awake, while she was home. "We could have spent the afternoon together," he said, hung up on the missed opportunity. "I wish you'd woken me up when you got in."

A small, sad grin formed on her waxen face. "I'm sorry, Lucy. I just woke up a few minutes ago, myself. Like you, I ended up falling asleep."

The dark circles under her eyes told Lucian everything he needed to know.

"Ah, well, that makes sense," he garbled, unable to shake the guilt of his display of insolence. He glanced at the partially-prepared meal sitting on the counter. "Hey, you should grab some more sleep. Whatever your cooking, I can finish it."

Without her consent, verbal or otherwise, he gently stole the spatula from his mother's grip. Moments after he did, it wiggled in his hand. Then, it wrenched completely free. Soaring through the air, it slowed until returning to its previous home in his mother's grip. "You get enough sleep for the both of us, Lucy," she teased, her cerise eyes twinkling. "I have a better idea. How about we finish breakfast together?"

A genuine smile came to Lucian's face. "Breakfast. Don't you mean dinner?"

She complimented his smile with one of her own. "I just woke up from a marathon two-hour nap, Lucy. Feels like a new day to me, and this being the first meal of the day makes it breakfast."

As Lucian wolfed down the ample helpings of food in his plate like a vacuum cleaner, he couldn't help from noticing his mother's frequent glances to the Holocaster positioned on the table next to her napkin.

"How's the grub?" he asked.

Poking laboriously at her plate with her fork, she glanced up and blushed. Her mouth full, she nodded enthusiastically and held up her finger for him to wait.

He forced a laugh.

"It's delicious, Lucy," she told him after another minute of savoring mastication. "Really, you're becoming quite the chef."

"Thanks," he said before locking onto her gaze. "You've got to go, don't you?"

Her smile slipped. "I've got to be back at the Gym by eight o'clock," she said bluntly.

"I knew it," Lucian groaned.

His mother arose from her seat, making the vinyl floor groan as the legs of the chair scraped against them. "There's a Trainer who booked a Battle at eight. I just skimmed the dossier on her. It's hard to tell for sure, but she looks like the real deal. I'd better be waiting for her if and when she cruises to the finish line."

Lucian tried his best hide his bitterness. "I understand," he said.

Sometimes, he wished his mother wasn't the Saffron City Gym Leader. It wasn't easy for him, and it had certainly taken its toll on her in more ways than one. All the Gyms in the Kanto region operated twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. His mother's Gym was no exception. As its esteemed leader and the Marsh Badge's last line of defense, technically she was on duty round-the-clock.

His mother made a move for his plate. "I'll take care of it," he insisted. "Yours too. After all these years, if there's two things I'm good at it's cooking food and washing the dishes afterwards."

A wave of sadness washed over his mother's face. For a few moments, no words passed between them. Still seated at the table, through a sidelong glance he watched her slip into her jacket and adjust the Pokéballs fastened to her belt.

"Lucian."

He looked at her head on.

"If you're open to the idea…" she spoke carefully as if it was a touchy subject, "I'd like to set up an appointment with another doctor."

His eyebrows furrowed. "I just saw Dr. Muro last month."

"Dr. Muro is a charlatan!" She exclaimed before shaking her head. "I just think you need a new doctor, that's all. And…a few days ago, I noticed that you haven't been taking your medicine."

"Yeah, I stopped popping those pills few weeks ago," he said, feeling guilty that she had to make this discovery for herself instead of him being open about it. "They don't do anything but give me insomnia."

Pulling up a chair, she sat down at the table again and rubbed his arm affectionately. "We're going to beat this thing, Lucy. Never stop believing that. And never stop praying to Arceus about it."

"Yeah, I know," he said, not in the mood for this sort conversation.

She squeezed his hand. "I'd better go."

"I know that, too," he said, laughing. She joined him. "See yah later, mother."

Sabrina arose and, hunching down, hugged him tightly. "Goodbye, Lucy."

"Can I say goodbye to Alakazam?" he said as she turned away to leave.

"Oh! Of course."

His mother held up the Pokéball which harbored her most powerful beast; the famed Alakazam of the Psychic Mistress. How he wished he could meet the creature face to face. Or meet a Pokémon of his very own, for that matter. His mother left the house just a few minutes past seven p.m. Traveling on foot and in the rain couldn't be fun. Even still, Lucian wished he could accompany her to the heart of the city.

After washing the dishes, Lucian slithered back upstairs to his room. Slumping down on the chair in front of his desk, he switched on his PC and began perusing the day's news.

Even at a glance, he could tell they reeked of sensationalist bullshit.

One headline shamelessly foisted this headline: Cynthia, Lance Favorites to Win Kanto Monster Tamer Championship, Unless Red Shows Up

Clickbait, at its finest. Even after all this time, some rose-tinted glasses wearing imbeciles still clung to the myth that Red was the most talented Trainer who ever lived. Legend. G.O.A.T. The Very Best. Sure, he was the youngest person to ever be become a Champion at seventeen, but the guy was a one-time Pokémon Champion. One and done. Nobody had seen him in going on two decades. Since then what had he accomplished? Nothing of merit, that was for sure. If by some miracle, he did rise from the proverbial grave and show up at the tournament, crusty at forty and rusty as all hell, he'd be knocked out in the first round.

A particularly raucous piece grabbed Lucian's attention. This wasn't yellow journalism. Not black comedy, either. The title read: Big Riddle Inn Fire Work of Arsonist

Lucian remembered reading about it last week. Four days' prior, at around 3:30 a.m., Blaine's lavish hotel on Cinnabar Island caught fire and, minutes later, burned down to the ground. At least twenty people perished in the flames; most of the victims had yet to be identified. Blaine himself, the elderly proprietor of the Big Riddle Inn and highly respected Fire Gym Leader, hadn't been seen since and was amongst the suspected dead, or as the reporter not so eloquently put it, "Those cooked to a crisp."

The whole situation was dreadfully ironic. According to the article, the authorities had now determined that instead of a horrible accident, it was "…evident that somebody torched the place." If there was veracity to those allegations, that meant twenty plus innocent people were murdered.

If that article made him sick to his stomach, this one had him rolling his eyes: Is Lt. Surge the Father of Sabrina's Love Child?

 _This ought to be good_ , he thought. The piece started out like this:

[Who is the father of Sabrina's love child, the nineteen-year-old recluse, Lucian? Long has the truth lived and breathed in the shadows. Over the years, dozens of men have come forward claiming to be the one who planted his seed inside her womb. All of these claims have since gone unsubstantiated, and The Psychic Mistress herself has refused time and time again to put the case to bed. This, of course, has forced myself and other brave journalists to seek the truth, of which we happily disseminate for public consumption. For it is our belief that the truth deserves to live and prosper. After many years of meticulous research and fact mining, we still have very little in terms of tangible evidence. Nevertheless, today we proudly present to our readership a big What If – that being – What If Lt. Surge is Lucian's father?

Surge and Sabrina were photographed together on numerous occasions twenty odd years ago. Out on Gym-related business, or were they hooking up? The answer to that is obvious. Clearly, one of these salacious trysts resulted in Sabrina's out of wedlock pregnancy. That's right. Think about it. Let it marinate.]

Lucian felt like banging his head on the wall. _Who the fuck wrote this garbage_ , he thought before staring at the computer screen and losing himself in a reverie.

 _What if the Lieutenant really is my father_?

A crack of submerged thunder sent his eyes scurrying away from the ridiculous online article.

Down, not up.

Was he hearing things? Perhaps it was just the heavy rain fueling his imagination.

No, there it was again. Three soft, distant notes.

It sounded like someone was rapping on the front door all the way downstairs.

 _It can't be mother_ , he reminded himself. Curious, he got up and sprinted down the hallway, and then a second, lengthier hallway before finally pacing alongside the railing overlooking the main lobby to his mother's mansion.

Another round of **knocks** sent the hairs on the back of his neck upright. From where he was standing, the knocking was more than a little obnoxious; the entire house seemed to tremble.

He tiptoed down the winding staircase. About halfway down, the mellifluous voice of an angel greeted his ears.

"Sabrina, we know you're in there! This is the police! Open up!"

An angel? No. Law enforcement? Ostensibly. That piqued Lucian's interest. Curiosity clashed with droplets of skepticism. Standing in front of the door, his clammy hand darted to the bolt above the knob. Shaky fingers caressed the cold metal. His breaths were short and arduous, and his heart pounded in his chest, turbulent and daring him to do it.

The door skidded open, at least as far as the chain would allow. A cool wind blew in through the separation, and the symphony of the tempest outside amplified. Lucian craned his neck, looking for the source of the disturbance. When he found it, he very nearly shrieked like a frightened little girl.

Enormous black eyes without irises goggled across from him.

"Why hello there, citizen."

Everything above Lucian's neck instantly flushed. Eyes? No, that was inaccurate. Those, his shambolic mind finally processed, were a pair of aviator glasses perched on the celestial nose of a very attractive woman.

"Mmmornin' mma'am…" Self-conscious of his steaming cheeks, he could barely squeeze the words out.

The lady at the door adjusted her hat. Decorated with an official looking insignia, it was of a navy-blue hue, much like the shoulder-length tresses that spilled below as well as the uniform wrapped tightly around her slim yet well-endowed womanly figure.

Gulping audibly, Lucian attempted language again. "An Officer Jenny...what, uh, can I do for you?"

"This is Sabrina's residence, correct?" she asked pointedly.

It didn't take long to process that question. "Yes, that's right."

She frowned. "So, who are you?"

"I'm her son, Lucian…"

"Her son?" She stroked her pointy chin. "Ah, yes, that's right. Sabrina is a mother." She grinned, baring a set of immaculate pearls which glowed starkly white in contrast to her tanned complexion. "Tell me son of Sabrina, is your mother home?"

Having few connections in the outside world and spending close to zero time with any member of the female species save for his mother, Lucian gawked at her sensual smile for a few seconds before coming to his senses. "I'm sorry Officer," he shook his head adamantly, "but if you're looking for the Mistress of Psychic Pokémon, you won't find her here. At this time of night, she's usually staffing at the Saffron City Gym. If it's neither particularly urgent nor classified information, I can deliver a message to–"

"I was just there," the Jenny interjected, frustration patent in her tone. "The Gym's leader was absent."

"Well, I'm not sure how long ago you left, but you must have just missed her. The schedule is booked for tonight, so she has to be there. As a matter of fact, I guarantee it."

The Officer adjusted her sunglasses, pushing them further up the bridge of her nose. "Listen," she sounded jaded now, "I have already been inconvenienced once this evening. Now we're caught in this wicked storm without, as you may have noticed, an umbrella. A roof under my head would be appreciated." She flashed her perfect teeth. "Depending upon how hospitable you are, I could also go for a cup of coffee. What do you think?"

Making a lady, and an Officer Jenny at that, stand outside in the rain – getting drenched – it was not how his mother raised him. It only took Lucian a few seconds to consider her proposal. "Do you have any Pokémon walking around with you?" he asked, his eyes widening upon spotting the trio of Pokéballs dangling at her hip.

"Three Pokémon accompany me, these days," she said, her nostrils flaring for some reason.

"But they're inside their respective balls, right?" he said anxiously. "One isn't prancing around somewhere next to you or," he tried to get a better look at her through the gap, "sitting on your shoulder?"

"That is correct," she replied.

"Okay, cool," he unlatched the chain. "Alright, you can come in…" His voice trailed off as someone else came into view.

The guy was tall, a whole half-a-head taller than Lucian who at six-feet three-inches was quite elevated himself. Slabs of muscle strained the seams of his navy-blue constable uniform. Slung around one of his burly shoulders was a bulgy-looking burlap sack. A monster of a man from the neck down, he possessed the strikingly soft, almost effeminate facial features of a male model.

The Officer Jenny introduced themselves as members of the Saffron City Police Department (SPD). "I am Officer Albina," she said, "and this is my deputy, Officer Einstein."

Lucian bowed to each of them respectfully. "Please, follow me," he said. Circumventing the staircase leading to the second floor, he took them to the enchanting ballroom his mother had reserved for guests a few times in years past. "Make yourselves at home," he even went so far as to pull out a chair for the each of them. Once they were seated and looking comfortable, he took a deep breath. "If you don't mind my asking," he said, still standing, "is something wrong, Officers? Why are you looking for my mother?"

The duo exchanged glances. Like the female Officer, a pair of broad black sunglasses were plastered over the eyes of her male counterpart. Despite being indoors, neither had bothered yet to remove them.

The Officer Jenny was clearly in charge, because she was always the one to orate. "Official Police business," she stated simply. "I'm afraid I cannot elaborate."

Lucian's lips formed a straight line. "I understand," he said, bobbing his head.

Just the way the light from the chandelier overhead cascaded down below, it painted the rims of the policewoman's sunglasses with a flashy glare. "I will divulge this," she said evenly. "We are conducting a criminal investigation and would just like to ask Sabrina a few questions. You're certain she isn't here?"

Lucian forced a smile. "I wouldn't stretch the truth, Officer Jenny. It's really just me holding down the fort in this big place."

The Jenny remained silent for several moments, her clenched hands resting on the glass surface of the table. She bobbed her head of blue hair slowly, and then threw him a gracious smile. "You have been very helpful, Lucian. Thank you for your cooperation. Before we depart, what is the status of that cup of coffee?"

"Oh shit, I almost forgot!" Lucian uttered before cupping his mouth. Grinning sheepishly behind his fingers, he dropped his hand when the Officer Jenny reacted to his cursing with a fit of cute feminine mirth. "I can make two, if he would like one," he offered, referring to the muscled policeman who had yet to utter a single word. Even still, Lucian was feeling less on edge and more comfortable around the both of them.

"That's sweet of you," the policewoman said approvingly. "We accept your kind offer."

"Two cups of coffee, coming right up," Lucian said with as much reverence as he could muster.

On his way to the kitchen, adrenaline ran through his body. For the first time in months, maybe years, he felt important, as if reenergizing these two Police Officers with a caffeinated beverage was a bona fide way of contributing to society. On top of that positive feeling, the Officer Jenny's cute smile stayed etched in his mind. He couldn't stop thinking about it, and about her.

At the same time, something else gnawed on his thoughts. He knew the men and women in blue consulted his mother on a regular basis. Sabrina being the most powerful Pokémon Trainer in the city by far, it made sense, but it was also her unofficial duty as a Gym Leader to help protect the local residents and infrastructure. With all the craziness he saw in the news lately, what was it this time?

He hardly heard it, the incessant, gravelly crunching sound of the coffee machine; despite filling the room, it did little to penetrate his thoughts. There was a lot on his mind, enough that when the machine ceased hiccupping, that fact went unnoticed for a good two or three minutes.

Carefully positioning the two cups on a tray, he bit his lip at the realization that he never actually asked his honorable guests if they held any preferences. He grabbed some cream and a bag of sugar for good measure.

"Sorry for taking so long…" Stumbling into the room, he stopped as if slamming into a brick wall. His jaw came loose. The tray nearly slipped out of his hands.

At the roundtable. Not two…but three seats were now occupied. There was the lady in blue, her athletic deputy, and now a third guest who was sitting with their back turned. Judging by the narrow shoulders, they had to be a she. Wispy azure tresses fell unevenly above a pale, slender neck.

For a fleeting moment, Lucian surmised it was another Officer Jenny. That initial impression was crushed the instant it swiveled in its unsanctioned seat.

The eyes that pierced his were orange as the sun, bright like it too, and inhuman.

Lucian screamed even before the pain arrived. His eyes fled, but by then it was too late. A blistering flame ignited within his retinas and spread back beyond them like wildfire.

In agony he screamed again, at the top of his lungs. The tray slipped from his grip and crashed to the floor. Streams of hot coffee spattered around his feet.

"N-no Pokémon are allowed inside this how-houz…" he heard himself hiss frantically as he cradled his head. His mouth parched, he swallowed in quick succession, hoping his saliva alone would be enough to irrigate the raw, arid sensation.

"I-I need you t-to r-returrr… you…y-your…" His words hit a barricade as his frenzied gaze stumbled upon a new horror. Underneath the table were the stately pair of gams that belonged to the Officer Jenny. But it wasn't those long legs bared beneath her skirt that ensnared his attention; it was the silhouette of something else lying next to them – something with eyes that smoldered like hot cinders.

The grip Lucian had on his temple rescinded. His eyes rolled into the back of his head. Even before he landed face-first onto the hard limestone floor, everything had already faded to black.


	2. Chapter 2: The Masquerade

**Chapter 2: The Masquerade**

The three seated guests remained bound and fixated when the human – Lucian, as he was called – painted the floor with caramel coffee, while he screamed like he was getting possessed by a Ghost, and even a full half-a-minute after he nose-dived to the floor.

The Ninetails reacted first. Springing from underneath the glass table, he scurried hurriedly over to the human and nudged on one of his broad shoulders with the brunt of his muzzle.

No response.

Unable to resist the nagging urge, the Gardevoir was up next. Together, she and the Ninetails rolled the listless body onto its back. To protect his vulnerable neck, and to prevent the human from choking on any fluids, she cradled his head at a slight angle in her lap. His breathing was so soft that it seemed nonexistent. Pressing under his jawline, her slender fingers steadied after discovering the tiny tremors of a pulse.

Relieved that he was alive, a potent dose of regret simultaneously coursed her veins. Flowing purple hair, the chiseled jawline, his prominent dimples – he looked nothing like him and yet he, as male human, reminded her of him all the same. The eerily familiar scene made everything ten times worse.

"Our Fair Lady, is he dead?" Einstein's finely tuned virile voice echoed from across the spacious room.

"Let's hope not, my beloved," replied their Fair Lady.

Out of the corner of her eye the Gardevoir watched them approach, both of them pretty convincing police officers masquerading in those navy-blue costumes. "He's alive," she announced by means of telepathy, "just fainted."

When the Fair Lady stopped, so too did the clicking and clacking of her heels against the polished floor. "Be a dear and check him, Desiree."

Doing her bidding without question, Desiree the Gardevoir felt around the human's waist and thighs, searching for anything of interest. The bulge she found in one of his pajama pants pockets turned out to be his Holocaster.

"No Pokéballs?" Below her dark glasses, the Fair Lady gnashed her teeth in contemplation.

Still cradling the human's head in her lap, it was impractical for Desiree to be more thorough. Thus, Einstein was ordered to assist. Setting aside the burlap sack that seldom ever left his mighty grip, he squatted down and gave the human an additional pat-down.

To their Fair Lady's supplementary surprise, his search came up empty.

"…How bizarre," she murmured musingly. "Hmmm, we'd best conduct a cavity search. Desiree, I'll leave that to you."

Shock and awe enveloped the Fairy Pokémon's face before rapidly mellowing. This wasn't the most heinous act ever asked of her. Far from it, in fact. "As you wish," she said faithfully.

At that, the Fair Lady giggled mischievously. "Hold on…wait! That won't be necessary, dear sister. I do jest." She giggled again. "On a serious note, you're certain the Light bares nothing of interest? Perhaps you should double-check."

Having already reported her findings, or lack thereof, while the human had been out of the room brewing coffee, the Gardevoir nonetheless shut her eyes and listened intently with her mind once more. Pushing the Light to the edge of her limits, she hunted for the roaming thoughts of a furtive presence. In the span of a few minutes, all she could glean were the familiar feelings of Einstein, his focus concentrated intensely on something she left well alone, and those belonging to the Ninetails, which she respectfully avoided.

Eyes fluttering, the Gardevoir shook her head. "It's as I told you before," she glanced down at the blank face in her lap, "except for this human, we're alone in this place."

"You look paler than usual," the Fair Lady noted, senses sharp as knives. "Do you doubt your perception?"

"It's nothing, sister," the Gardevoir lied. "You know you don't have to worry about me."

"Good. Let's take a look around, shall we? We'll even take this poor fool with us." She grinned. "In fact, he can give us a tour!"

Einstein scooped Lucian off the floor and, to the Gardevoir's relief, out of her lap. To the weak and vulnerable, a gangly human like him might be considered imposing in stature. Draped over one of Einstein's chiseled shoulders, however, made him look no bigger than a Kirlia.

They wandered around for a bit. It was a sprawling mansion, with some rooms exhibiting a dense gothic opulence while others were severely lacking in décor, as if somewhere along the way of designing the home its owner lost her inspiration. Much to Einstein's bellowing amusement, their Fair Lady heckled the human with inquiries about the purpose of each room and their sundry furnishings.

Unconscious, Lucian never provided an answer.

Weaving their way around, they eventually came to an impressive spiral staircase. Highly detailed paintings of Pokémon sat suspended along the walls going up. Alakazam, Gengar, Hypno, Espeon, Venomoth, and a Mr. Mime with a rather voluptuous pair of breasts were amongst those who witnessed their ascent. These, Desiree surmised, were the creatures loyal to Sabrina. The only one that seemed out of place was the painting of a yellow mouse with blushing cheeks and furious dark eyes.

Exploring upstairs now, Desiree came to realization that the Ninetails had taken the reins. His tails swayed gently as he steered them deeper into the maze. Soon, they followed the swirling tails into a cluttered space with an unmade bed, a sprawling bookcase, and some kind of nerdy supercomputer which had been left turned on.

There was little doubt that this was Lucian's living quarters.

"Let's make the human comfortable," a small, withered voice said. It was first time all morning that the Ninetails had touched their minds with his thoughts. Despite his ancient age, he leapt up on the bed with a nimble grace. "Over here, Ditto," he whispered again by means of Psychic telepathy.

Einstein's physical reaction was near-instant. His face, which was immensely handsome for a human, dented. At any second it looked like he was going to burst into tears. "Don't call me that," he sniffled meekly.

"Alabaster!" Their Fair Lady's tone was a scolding one as she came to the Ditto's rescue. "You know he doesn't like it when you call him that…"

The Ninetails glared at the consolation unapologetically. "Deceiving others is a means to end, but to deceive thyself of thine own truth is to deny thyself of thine own potential. Thou knoweth this better than anyone, Lady Apollyon."

His candor rendered their Fair Lady momentarily speechless.

Motioning to the bed with his muzzle, "Prithee, Ditto, lay him here."

Obedient even while cracking like glass, Einstein lowered Lucian onto the bed.

"What's the point of this request?" The Fair Lady wanted to know. The gust from her throat was devoid of the playful mischief she occasionally reserved for them. "Not like he's awake to appreciate a pillow under his head. Or perhaps it's for the karma. Is that it? Well, now that you've got your good deed for the day, I say it's time we get this fool out of our hair. Einstein, a vacant Pokéball, please."

Still sniveling, the Ditto planted the burlap sack he was burdened to carry at his feet. It landed with a **thud**. After wiping his slushy nose with the sleeve of his uniform, he delved into the sack and procured a red and white sphere, of which he solemnly placed in the outstretched hand of their Fair Lady.

Preferring not to watch, Desiree looked away.

"Wait, my Lady," the Ninetails implored urgently, "He is not thine enemy."

"Of course he is!" she growled. "He's human filth. And not of the generic variant. Oh no, lest you forget this is the progeny of a Team Rocket captain."

The Ninetails remained stalwart in his opposition. "Humans art not inherently evil," he reasoned boldly. "Rid thyself of such baseness and save terrible vengeance for those who deserve it."

She gritted her teeth as if reconsidering, and then shook her head dismissively. "I won't waste our time babysitting him. His fate is sealed." She aimed the red and white spherical device it at the body lying like a corpse on the bed. "In this cage," she said, her sonorous voice surging, "you will rot!"

The Ninetails threw his emaciated quadruped frame over the human in an attempt to delay the casting of her hex. "Prithee, relent! Doth thee not sense it, Lady Apollyon? Or thee," his old eyes sprang elsewhere, "Princess?"

Desiree threw him a sympathetic look before her gaze converged with that of a foggy pair of glasses.

The Fair Lady frowned, as if taking notice. "Spare me the garrulous lecture, Alabaster," she said, her patience hanging by threads. "If you've caught wind of something I have not, share it and stop being such a sanctimonious old fox!"

Alabaster's muzzle turned and pointed to the quasi-corpse. "This human among us. The Flame breathing inside his heart. It shines bright with the Dark."

His words meant little to Desiree. For their Fair Lady, however, they had a catalytic impact. In an instant, she was stooping by the bed, her sharp nose parallel to Alabaster's elegant muzzle. Einstein quickly joined them. Curious, Desiree followed suit. For a time, no words passed between them, telepathic or otherwise. They just watched him lying there in supine position, a peaceful expression sewn onto his face. That is until, without warning, he grimaced and shuddered in his sleep before murmuring something she found wholly incomprehensible.

"I didn't get all of it," Einstein barked excitedly. "What'd he say? Something about death dying? What does that even mean?"

"Quiet!" their Fair Lady hissed before grabbing the Gardevoir around the arm above the fabric of her glove. Razor-sharp nails pinching against her flesh, it took everything Desiree had not to wince.

"Sister, his mind, I need you to try taking a peek. Do it, quickly now, sister!"

The Gardevoir did not hesitate. Placing her hand on the human's face, fingers fastening lightly over his spasming eyelids, she attempted to eat his dream.

Grimacing, she tried harder, but despite her best efforts she couldn't see anything. The harder she tried to traverse through the murk, the more it hurt. Unable to bear it any longer, she moaned outwardly before wrenching her hand away. In that moment of audible misery, her poise melted and with it, the levitation she exerted on her own body. Her feet hitting the floor, she would have fallen flat on her ass if not for Einstein who caught her around the waist.

Tears wetted her cheeks, which were left unchecked as she fought at the sudden globus sensation scraping at her throat. Blinking rapidly did little to improve her blurry vision. Her hearing, however, functioned properly.

"Did you see anything?" their Fair Lady asked pointedly.

"Yeah, my life, flashing before my eyes," Desiree replied with rays of indignation shining through.

"Forgive me," the Fair Lady said through an incongruous grin. "I had to know if his mind was ensconced by Dark."

Desiree squinted, eyes still raw. "So, you knew that would happen…sister?"

"Not exactly. If Ally was wrong about the human, you would have had yourself a delicious snack. But, it would seem he was right." She caressed a few of the Ninetails' elegant appendages. "You old fox! I should never have doubted your insight."

"What's so special about him?" Einstein asked, referring to the human. He sounded fascinated and at the same time, frustrated. As much as Desiree hated to admit it, she was too.

The Fair Lady's touch landed upon the bedridden body. When she touched him, his chest seemed to heave harder than before. "Let's just say that this is not your average human. The Dark embraces him for some reason." Her enduring grin widened. "I do wonder why, hehehe. Regardless, it would be foolish to believe we came here by mere happenstance. On the contrary, we were led here by a cosmic hand."

Einstein's mouth curved into the wide grin of a Ditto. " _He_ guided us, didn't _He_?"

"There can no doubt, my beloved. For this grand discovery, let us express our gratitude to _Him_ , our Great Redeemer, the _Lord of Light and Dark_."

Lady Apollyon bowed her head, as did Einstein whose shuddering excitement seemed to douse all internal turmoil and confusion. He did so enjoy participating in prayer. Desiree too bowed, though every so often she found herself stealing glances at the sleeping human.

 _You were defenseless,_ she thought _, so how could you resist my Light? Why, why couldn't I invade your dream?_

After extending their thanks to the Lord of Light and Dark, the four of them discussed strategy. The plan was simple enough. Sabrina wasn't at the Gym for suspicious reasons. Nonetheless, she had to return home eventually, and when she did, they would be waiting. As for Lucian, if the strange human awakened beforehand their masquerade would recommence, at least until his mother showed.

It was Desiree who, upon taking notice, informed the others. "I think he's waking up," she warned.

She was right. After a few short moments, the human's magenta eyes opened.


	3. Chapter 3: Not Alone

**Note: It had been a year since I last updated this story. I apologize for my hiatus. Real life has been getting in the way, but my interest in this story, as well as yours, has pulled me back - and this time I'm back for good. For those who give me reviews and/or feedback, thank you. It has been and is very encouraging and motivates me to write faster. Please be advised that I heavily revamped Chapters 1 and 2. If you're coming back to this story from 2016, before diving into Chapter 3 please reread the first two chapters.**

 **Chapter 3: Not Alone**

Lucian was less woozy and more genuinely dumbfounded. Rubbing his eyes, he found himself experiencing difficulty processing the visual message they relayed.

Off the east coast of the bed was a uniform-clad police officer with medium-length complementary blue hair, a well-endowed feminine figure, and a bronzed skin tone. Rather tall for a woman, a bug-eyed pair of black sunglasses partially engulfed her angelic face.

Standing tall as a fucking skyscraper at the base of the bed was a male police officer. About as brawny as the average Machoke, he also donned a pair of sunglasses.

"The cops…yeah, I remember you guys. What happened...Officer Jenny?" Lucian groaned as molten lava spewed behind eyes.

"You passed out a little while ago," the Officer Jenny told him. "You know, we've been awfully worried about you."

Lucian's magenta eyes stooped to the spread of his mattress. "How did I get up here?" he asked, absorbing the familiarity. He then froze. In his peripherals, he saw it. No, them. "Officer Jenny," he began, his frenzied vision scuttling, "earlier, I asked you if you had any Pokémon with you..."

"I remember," she said coolly. "I told you, I travel with three."

"Well, if you recall I also asked if they were inside of their Pokéballs or out." He swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. "Are there a couple of them like, just a few feet away from me right now?"

The Officer Jenny shrugged. "Yes, that is correct."

Lucian started panting. He couldn't help it. He could feel his heart ricochet like a pinball above his ribcage, his blood pressure skyrocket into space, his brain turn to goo. The only thing that kept his mind anchored was the Officer Jenny, who extended to him an alluring white smile.

"Allow me to introduce you to them!" she crooned merrily. "This furry old fox you see here, with the adorable snout and what has to be a very cumbersome assortment of tails is, you guessed it, a Ninetails. His name is Alabaster. He might seem a bit bashful at first, but once you get to know him he will talk your head off."

Out of the corner of his wobbly eye, Lucian could make out the downy tendrils extending in a mess all along the other half of the bed. As for the creature they belonged to, the Fire type was sitting on his haunches not one foot away from his heaving chest.

"Well met, human," something small and withered breathed inside his skull. It was telepathy. Lucian ascertained that fact quickly enough. If not for the fear breeding in his heart, he might have reacted with interest and zeal.

"Now, you must be wondering if your eyes are deceiving you," the Officer Jenny continued, not taking the hint. "A beautiful Gardevoir here, in your household, and one with the royal blue hair and golden eyes of their nobility. Well, I assure you, she is real."

Lucian just barely suppressed a scream as his teetering, tempting eyes made contact. The bipedal Pokémon was floating there – right there – behind its Trainer.

"Lucian, her name is Desiree. Desiree, his name is Lucian." Her cute grin faltered slightly. "I feel like I'm the only one trying here. Desiree, help me out. Come on dear, don't be shy."

"Me? He's the one whose all... jittery and sweaty. Look at him."

"Now that you mention it, he's pale as a sheet. About as pale as you are, in fact." The policewoman waved her hand in front of his face. "Yoo-hoo, Lucian, can you hear me?"

Without thinking, he bolted up in the bed and clasped her around the arm. His knuckles whitened as he reeled her in close like he was a fisherman and she the catch on his hook. "I need you to return your Pokémon to their respective Pokéballs," he said to the sunglasses mere inches away, "Now, right now! If you don't," he grimaced, "I might die."

A colossal shadow coasted into the eastern corner of Lucian's vision. "You might also die if you do not remove your filthy hands from Our Fair Lady."

It was the first time Lucian had heard the policeman speak. This steroid-junkie wasn't playing around. If his threatening words weren't intimidating enough, his face had turned florid with rage.

Lucian's grip relented, but only partially due to her overprotective deputy's roid-rage. Putting his hands on a woman, despite his degraded condition it was wholly inappropriate and he couldn't believe that he'd done such a thing. "I-I'm sorry," he said, choking back a bastion of tears and hoping she wasn't shaken or offended. "I'll explain everything, but first, your Pokémon need to g-go. Please…"

"Do I get a say in this, human by the name of Lucian?" the Gardevoir asked, gracing his mind with enchanting words for a second time. "I would prefer not to be caged, thank you very much." Something about its telepathy rubbed him the wrong way. Taking umbrage with what its assertion, he didn't take too much time to ponder how it sounded.

"No Pokémon are allowed inside my mother's house," Lucian insisted, again wrangling with his temper. "I'm sorry you don't like your Ball, uh...Desiree...but as our guest, you have to follow our rules."

"Permit me ask, human. What is the purpose of this rule?" That question came from the bundle of golden-white fur on the bed next to him. Every so often, its swaying tails bushed against his arm.

"I'm…sick," Lucian admitted as he tried and failed to shuffle away from the furry pests.

"Sick?" The Officer Jenny said, sounding interested. "Sick, how?"

 _Where to begin_ , Lucian thought. He didn't want to bore them with his pathetic and lonely life story. In fact, he wasn't especially wanting to impart any of it at all. But, at the same time, an opportunity to discuss this topic with someone besides his mother or a physician had never presented itself beforehand. Maybe it would be cathartic.

"First of all," he began uneasily, "I'm not contagious. I suffer from a non-communicable disease…"

"What are your symptoms?" Desiree asked.

Lucian swallowed audibly. "I can't look at you."

"You can't look at me?" it echoed. "...Is that it?"

Nodding until realizing his blunder, Lucian made a face as he proceeded to backtrack and reexplain. "It's not just you. I can't look at this Ninetails either. If I do, I get sick...I-I'm sorry this is unfamiliar territory for me. It's hard to explain."

"So what...you just feel really awkward or anxious in social situations or something?"

"No, it's not a...a mental health issue. It's physiological…I think of it as some kind of an allergy. When I'm around Pokemon I...I feel like my head is going to explode."

"As far as you can tell, you're allergic to all kinds of Pokémon, yes?" the Officer Jenny asked him outright.

He nodded somberly. "Egg groups don't seem to matter. Fairy, Fire, Psychic, typing doesn't seem to either."

"Now it makes sense," the Jenny said, her lips forming a lopsided grin.

"What does?"

"Why you don't Train any Pokémon. After you passed out, we noticed there weren't any Pokéballs on your person. That's rare, especially for someone your age."

"Yup, I'm not just a pariah. I am the pariah. I've never trained a Pokémon, and probably never will unless someone in the pharmaceutical industry finds a cure. Problem is, I'm literally the only one suffering from this disease. The only funds that keep the research afloat come from my mother's wallet..." He stopped. The look the Officer Jenny betrayed was one he recognized. It was one he caught pinned on the face of his mother when her guard was down and she couldn't summon the strength to fake a reassuring smile.

Pity. Lucian despised that look most of all.

"I don't want you to feel sorry for me. Just do me a favor and return your Pokémon. That or…" he glanced down at the bed, "…leave. There's no point in keeping me company, anyways. You've got a job to do, and I'm just dead weight."

Officer Albina sat down on the bed next to him. "We're not going anywhere."

"You're welcome to stay," he said, sounding a little too hopeful, "…but they can't. It's just the way it has to be."

"I've got a better idea." Her lips creased into a smirk. "Come closer to me. I want to show you something."

Dabbing at the dampness manifest along his temple, he waggled closer to her on the bed. She met him halfway, wiggling her ass until their hips collided. When she turned to him, Lucian's heart began to race as he dared conceive of the salacious possibility that she was about to kiss him.

Instead, she removed her sunglasses.

Lucian gasped. He couldn't help it. "Your eyes…" he said, gawking at her naked face, "…are you wearing contacts?"

The policewoman giggled. Free at last, her crimson irises twinkled with a corresponding amusement. "Here, try these on," she stole one of his hands and folded his fingers over her glasses.

Staring at her for a few additional seconds, he at last pulled his gaze to the object sitting in his hand. "This is totally normal," he slipped them on, "wearing sunglasses - indoors. Uh, alright. Now what?"

"Look around," she said. "Take it all in."

He looked around.

"So, what do you think?"

"It's dark in here."

She shook her head. "No, no, you're still not getting it you silly Zangoose. Desiree, levitate over here."

Lucian's heart skipped a few beats. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched it slink ever nearer until it was right on his doorstep. Having nowhere else to look, he glared down at its feet; the pair of high-heel black leather boots levitated a couple of inches above the carpet.

"Look up," its Trainer suggested.

"I already told you, Officer. I can't. I'm allergic to your Pokemon."

"Just trust me."

The Pokemon's black boots wrapped tightly around its slender legs just below the knee. A swathe of complimentary black silk embraced the Pokémon's svelte figure going up. A decadently deep slit along the side of the fabric bared a distracting slice of skin that seemed to emit a pale glow akin to that of the moon. The remaining night of the gown sheathed its tight midsection and the modest bumps of its bosom, though a thin cut along the middle allowed for the protrusion of the prominent ventral fin characteristic of its species.

During this inspection, Lucian realized that 'It' was an inaccurate pronoun to describe a Gardevoir. This one was definitely female.

His vision embarked further up. Below sallow lips she sported a labret piercing. Skirting her eyes, he examined her hair. Unlike most Gardevoir, and Gallade for that matter, hers was blue.

Dangerously close now, he touched briefly upon her lavender eyeshadow before colliding with her amber eyes. There at last, he waited for the pain.

For some reason, the onslaught did not commence.

Any second now, he thought. The delay persisted, teasing him perhaps before delivering a fatal strike. Venturing in this off-limits piece of her visage, he soon got lost in it. Below the lavender makeup, her eyes were naturally bright, and yet, there was unmistakable dullness to them, as if they lacked any sort of glint. Refusing to dance, and rarely batting them, her eyes just sat there in their sockets, frozen solid.

For the first time in his life, Lucian experienced the joy of examining a Pokémon for an extended period of time. Lucky for him, judging from her expression she didn't seem to mind.

"So, what do you think?"

At last tearing his eyes away, he turned his undivided attention to the Officer Jenny. He wanted to thank her for this miracle. He wanted to jump for joy. He wanted to crumble to his knees and sob like a bitch.

"All these years…" he took the aviators off for a moment to inspect them. "How is this even possible?"

"Those are no ordinary glasses, Lucian. That visor was specially made for me. Or should I say, us."

The hairs on the back of Lucian's neck bristled. "What do you mean by _us_?"

She giggled. "It would seem you and I have something in common."

Lucian stared in disbelief. "Wait a second. You're saying you suffer from Pokémon Allergies just like me?"

She giggled again, but this time, it sounded rather sad. "Pokémon allergies. Hehe, I never thought of it like that. Still, it's an interesting appellation for our gift, and our curse."

When the tears began to flow, he allowed them to do so freely. "So... I'm not alone," he mouthed, unable to speak.

"Albina?" Soft and emotionless, it was the telepathy that belonged to the Gardevoir.

"You may speak, Desiree?"

"We've... got company."

With a jolt, Officer Albina sprang to her feet. "Sabrina?"

Lucian practically mirrored her reaction. "Mother!" he sniffled, rising up.

"No," Desiree said flatly. Slinking over to the window, she peeled back a sliver of the curtain and held it there for her Trainer to take a peek.

"Lucian," the police lady called after a few seconds, "I don't suppose you invited a bunch of your friends over for a little party?"

"I don't have any friends," he said robotically.

"Well then, you might want to take a look at this."

Interested, he joined the two of them by the curtain. Albina stepped aside, allowing him to take the spot by the window and peer through.

Already dusky outside, his new pair of sunglasses only obscured things even more. He squinted. Parked along the circular driveway were the silhouettes of two rectangular motor vehicles. One of the vans had carelessly, or perhaps deliberately, squashed a patch of the flower bed surrounding the marble fountain.

Lucian squinted again as his eyes detected the trace of movement. There was somebody down there. Instantly pusillanimous, he moonwalked away from the window. "You're right, there is someone out there..."

Burglars, possibly. _Thank Arceus the Police are already here_ , he told himself.

"Desiree," Albina said calmly, "what's the chatter?"

The Gardevoir took a few seconds to respond until finally doing so through frozen lips.

"They're looking for a human male, age nineteen, with long violet hair." Her cold eyes unthawed and converged with Lucian's, who stared at her, unabated, through his glasses. "They're here for you," she told to him as their gaze continued to intertwine. "They have orders to find you, and take you."

"Me? Who...why...What do they want with me?" Shakily, he dug into his pockets. "Shit!"

"Looking for something?" the Officer Jenny asked after he dove onto his mattress and began sweeping around on hands and knees.

"My Holocaster," he panted, checking first beneath the sheet and then underneath the pillows. "I had it in my pocket earlier…shit! Where did it fall out?"

"You mean this thing?"

He glanced up. Sure enough, below glowing red eyes his Holocaster rested in her outstretched hand.

Every second counted. Luckily, his mom was on speed dial. "My mother can be here in, I don't know, twenty minutes," he said, his heart fluttering.

"Yes, contacting Sabrina is a good idea," the policewoman agreed. "I was about to suggest that very thing. We could use the reinforcements."

"Dammit!" he squawked.

"Bad news?"

"It went straight to voice mail…she must be embroiled in a Pokémon Battle."

The Officer Jenny took Lucian by the hand. Her clasp was awfully tight, and her nails digging into his palm stung something fierce. "Forget about her," she stressed. "For now, you're going to have to make do with the men and women in blue."

They abandoned the bedroom and maneuvered through a web of chambers and hallways. Despite the sense of urgency in her voice, the Officer Jenny led the way at an almost leisurely pace. Whether it was because she was impeded in heels or due to her having to take him along for the ride, Lucian wasn't sure. As a seasoned cop, maybe she was just that confident.

"Caught wind of anything significant, Desiree?"

"Yes, master," Albina's part-Psychic type answered casually. "It would appear the assailants are not anticipating a fight."

"Ah, that is interesting indeed. And for them, most unfortunate. Anything else?"

Levitating faithfully behind her Trainer, the Gardevoir ended up right beside Lucian. Bared above a black opera length glove, her narrow shoulder nearly grazed against his arm. Through his specialized glasses, he glanced in her direction. When he did, his gaze slammed into hers.

Her gaze drifted. "There's a lot of radiance over there. It's practically blinding. Even if I could isolate one of them, I wouldn't be able to glean very much. Not from this distance."

"Can you determine how many of them there are?" Lucian dared ask the Pokemon.

"I counted…Thirteen." She answered after a few moments.

They reached the railing leading to the winding stairwell and beyond that, the grandiose main lobby. "I have an idea…" Lucian said before shutting his mouth to quell his nerves. He hated how on edge he sounded. "If there's really...thirteen of them out there, we're outnumbered. Instead of facing them head on, we've got a panic room installed in the basement. All of us can hide down there until my mother gets here. I'll keep trying to contact her until she answers...or uh, until she turns her phone back on. It keeps going to voice mail..."

 _Click_.

Lucian's gaze bounced from his Holocaster to the tiny yet high-pitched note that emanated from the first floor.

At that hushed juncture, the front door began to open. There was no forced entry of any kind. That _click_ was the lock being disengaged.

From the second floor, Lucian watched, slack-jawed, as about a dozen men flooded through the wide-open entry. Most of them were covered in black from head to toe. About a third of the invaders were clad in silver suits of armor. Some of them had Pokéballs in hand. Others were equipped with illegal weapons; knives boasted by many of those shrouded in black, and as far as he could tell a scabbard was suspended from the belt of every single one of those fitted in silver armor.

"This is the police!" the Officer Jenny shrieked. Brazenly, she pointed her finger at the throng of intruders below. "Every single one of you is under arrest for the unlawful entry of this household. Drop your weapons and put your hands where I can see them. Comply immediately, or we will use force!"

Buoyant laughter echoed in the lobby. Clearly, her legal authority had fallen on deaf ears. One of the strange men paced out in front of the rest. He was a rather rotund fellow with a neatly trimmed goatee. Wearing a solid black overcoat, in his right hand he grasped what incredibly looked like a gun.

"This isn't what it looks like, Officer Jenny," he said, mischief oozing from his words. "I'll have you know that we've done nothing wrong." With his free hand, he held up something small and gold.

It was a key.

"No crimes being committed over here. We're family, see? That boy with the long hair is my cousin."

The Officer Jenny smacked Lucian with a stern look.

"You're lying," Lucian roared. "I've never met you before in my life."

"Oh, but we know you very well, Lucian. We've watched you grow up. Hell, we've watched over you. Because that's what family does. We take care of each other, no matter what." He waddled closer to the stairs. "To be honest, I'm surprised you called the police. What's it been, two or three hours since you last saw her?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You're mother. Aren't you wondering where she is?"

Lucian's lips began to spasm as new and very real possibility sunk its teeth into his cognition. The Police asking about his mother, and their insistence that she wasn't at the Gym. His calling her and her not answering. Straight to voice mail, as if her Holocaster's battery had died. Or been switched off. Or was in a place without service. Or maybe it had been smashed to bits.

He clutched at the railing and wrung it tightly. "Are you implying that you've… hurt my mother?"

The man laughed. "Relax, cousin. She is safe. She's just taking a little nap, that's all. You know, one of these days, you're going to thank us for this little intervention. Both you and Sabrina." He glanced over his shoulder and barked, "The boy is unarmed. He has a disability. And he's family. Be gentle, gentlemen."

"What about the blue bitch and that bodybuilder?" one of the men clad in armor asked.

"Who cares about the Jenny, I'm way more interested in what we should do with that Shiny Gardevoir!?" hollered a crazed-looking thug wielding a hatchet.

"Enough banter," the fat man giving the orders barked. "You know the drill. Kill these cops. Pocket their Monsters - they exist for our glory, after all."

Grinning eagerly and brandishing their weapons, the battalion of grunts marched towards the base of the staircase.

"Einstein!" Albina's voice rang.

His face flushing pink, the big guy let the bag he had hauled over his shoulder drop to the ground. After that, with lightning speed he began to undress. First, he removed his hat, revealing a wave of thick dark hair. Peeling off his navy jacket, he discarded it like it meant nothing to him. He then proceeded to remove all his upper garments until the muscles constrained and suffocating underneath bustled free. "I will erase them from your world," Lucian could have sworn he heard the guy whisper.

Without needing a command from her Trainer, Desiree glided to the top of the stairs next to Einstein. With the flick of her wrist, every single one of the intruders below were sent flying through the air. Their screams inundated Lucian's senses before and after their bodies were tossed around like ragdolls.

"Fucking Psychic bitch!"

For a moment, Lucian thought they might have a chance. Until the bruised and battered ragdolls picked themselves up. Lobbing Pokéballs like grenades, the exasperated thugs sent their own Pokémon into the fray. Strange, bestial sounds emanated below. If they weren't already hopelessly outnumbered before, a Raticate, Golbat, Mightyena, Beedrill, colossal Ursaring and an even bigger Bewear materialized to tip the odds against them even further.

The Gardevoir lifted her hand.

"No Desiree," her Trainer, Albina said softly. "That won't be necessary. Einstein can take it from here."

At a glance, the Gardevoir's face looked exactly as it always had. Like a fixed, snowy-white mask. The change that occurred lied in her eyes which now twinkled with some unnamed emotion.

"You don't want my help?" she asked.

"On the contrary, I need your help," Albina corrected her. "Just not here, with me. Right now, I need you to protect Lucian. Take him far away from this place. Our room at the Shining Hotel should be a nice safe spot. Can you do that for me?"

"You want me to travel with him, a human…alone?"

Her amber eyes slipped and landed on his vision. Certain that his eyes were well-hidden behind the rims of his sunglasses, Lucian wondered if the Psychic Pokemon was instead rifling through his thoughts and feelings. She probably had been for quite some time. On his end, he didn't need to read her mind to know she didn't want to leave when her Trainer needed her most.

"I'm not going to take your Gardevoir and run away," he said, speaking firm and from the heart. "Your Ninetails looks pretty tough and, uh, Einstein over there looks like he's on ster...err, like he hits gym every few hours... but there's no way they can hold these guys off all by themselves. Besides, this is my house and I intend to protect it. I might not have any Pokémon to fight for me, but I do have these." He held up his fists.

Officer Albina thrust a round object in those hands. It was a Pokéball. "You've got it all wrong," she said evenly. "Desiree is not my Pokémon. She is a slave to no one. Now, she did entrust me with her Pokéball which, mind you she isn't very fond of. As a gesture of good faith, I'm going to let you hold onto it for a while."

"Officer Albee–!"

"–Don't worry about me, Lucian," she said through a suicidal smile. "You have yet to meet the third and most powerful Pokémon I travel with. They might outnumber us, sure. But I assure you, these fools are hopelessly outclassed."

Absurd as it sounded, Lucian hoped she was telling the truth and not intent on going out in a blaze of sacrificial glory. "What's he doing?" he pointed to the topless monolith of muscle called Einstein. The guy had to have balls of steel, because then and there he began to descend the stairs, the same stairs the Ursaring was currently climbing. "Doesn't he have a Pokémon?"

"Why yes," Albina said curtly, "he's got a Monster of his very own of course."

"Is it strong?"

Her crimson irises gleamed. "Devilishly strong…now do me a favor and shut your pie hole. You two need to get out of here." She giggled. "Desiree, that's your cue to leave."

Lucian felt a diminutive hand latch onto his. At first, he thought it was the policewoman invading his personal space again. Wrong. This hand was slick as the satin fabric drawn over it.

"Well, I guess I have no choice," he heard the Gardevoir whisper inside his head. "You. Human. Don't let go of me until I say so." The fabric fitted over her hand was slippery enough that to not slide out of her grasp he really did have to keep a firm grip.

It happened within the blink of an eye. One second, they were cornered upstairs in his mother's house. The next, Lucian found himself standing on the not so familiar brick paver driveway in front of it. It was dark out, cold, and the bleak sky was pelting everything with a heavy rain. Shivering more so from his nerves running amok than anything else, he clutched closely at the source of heat levitating in front of him.

"Okay human, you can let go of my hand now. And relax. Your heart shouldn't beat that fast."


	4. Chapter 4: So Cold

**Chapter 4: So Cold**

The plunging v-neck of the Gardevoir's gown allowed her ventral fin to breathe. Protruding from her upper abdomen just below her bosom, it pulsed forward before sinking in conjunction with her rather arduous breathing. Above her golden fin, and her cleavage for that matter, dangled a necklace with a silver pendent of two intersecting lines, like a plus sign, except the vertical piece was slightly longer than the horizontal.

"Is something distracting you, human?"

"Huh?" Snapping out of it, he shivered in the pelting rain and glanced around. Up ahead were the two acres of land that constituted the front portion of his mother's property. The sprawl of their mansion rose behind. "I'm just…uh…" he shook his drippy head of hair. "How did we get out here?"

"I teleported us," she said through frozen lips. The visible eye unblanketed by her soggy Garde-bangs widened with alarm. "See those MV's over there?"

Lucian followed the Pokémon's gaze to the Swoobat gargoyle fountain.

"Yeah, I see them…" he said, squinting. From this vantage point outside, he could more clearly distinguish the broad rectangular shapes of the two proximal motor vehicles. Their presence, along with the freezing rain, sent a shiver down his spine.

"We should hide."

Moments after her saying that, he jolted as a pair of doors clunked open. Moments after that, those doors clunked shut and two silhouettes began to jog through the rain with a trajectory heading right for them.

His vision scrambled to his escort. Or at least, where she had been levitating in front of him. Now she was gone. _Did she abandon me_?

"Over here, human!"

Trembling, he followed the wave of telepathy. _There she is_! Crouched down behind the wall of hedge plants, feet probably planted on the ground to decrease her elevation, he could discern the blue blaze of her hair through the sparse leaves.

"Well don't just stand there! Hurry up, you moron!"

Lucian pictured himself darting like a ninja and joining her behind the bushes to avoid detection. In theory, he could have done it if not for cement blocks fitted over his feet. Unable to budge, the approaching footsteps grew louder as did the crackling of what sounded like some kind of radio transmission.

"Cassidy… Bill! Fizz … We… fizzzz… backup… fizz… We need… eek! W-who, w-what are… Fizzzz!"

"Roger that, Petrel," the shape on the left cried chauvinistically. "We're inbound. Over."

"You think the kid's putting up a fight, Cass?" worried the shape on the right.

"I doubt it. He doesn't own any beasts, remember?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean he won't throw hands…!"

Very nearly colliding with Lucian, the shape on the right, a lanky guy with a blond bowl cut, slipped and landed flat on his ass. The impact caused him to wail abrasively. On the left, the blonde female nearly lost her balance, but managed to stay upright. Wearing complimentary black uniforms, a burgundy symbol was embroidered proudly on the front. It looked redolent of the letter, **R**.

"Long, purple hair!" the blond guy exclaimed as he nursed his aching backside. "Ahhh… Isn't that him, Cass!"

"What do you think, Hutch?" A satisfied smile dawned on the blonde female's face as she pressed the radio against her cheek. "Petrel, I've located the boy. Apprehending him now. Over… Hutch! Pick yourself up and help me get him."

"It's Butch…" Hutch said with terse fury as he picked himself up. "I swear, Cass, you're fudging my name on purpose. All of are, and it's not funny anymore!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Hutch."

They made a move a towards their objective. As Lucian stood frozen in fear and still as a statue, a lissome shadow blinked behind his assailants. It was the Gardevoir. The moment she emerged, she was already going through the motions of a delivering a strike. Her black leather boot smacked the smile off of the female thug's face.

Her radio fell from her grasp, and eyes shut she crumbled to the ground in silence.

Bill, Hutch, Butch, or whatever his name was, the male assailant reached for his belt. Suddenly, his shoes left the turf and his fists flicked up so that his arms were parallel to his shoulders. Suspended in the air like a puppet, he was left completely exposed as the Gardevoir floated closer. "Oh, come on, why me? Why is it always me!" he cried, spit flying everywhere as he spoke so rapidly it was difficult to process. "Petrel said you didn't train any Monsters, ugh, I should have known that was a bunch of malarkey…" His eyes teetered in their sockets. "Whoa, hold on a second, kiddo. Call of your Mon's attack! Shit, how to explain? This kidnapping… it looks bad, I know, I know, just think of it as a kind of hazing ritual. See kid, you're one of uh–ahhh!"

A pale leg flashed from the curtain of Desiree's black dress, and the fast-talking man's pupils shrunk to pinpoints as a high heal boot took flight to meet them.

His stiff joints thawing, Lucian crouched down to inspect the bodies. Inert, he was relieved to discover their shallow breathing.

"They'll live, if that's what you're worried about," the Gardevoir said as if she had read his mind. "Now come. Albina instructed me to take you to the Shining Hotel, and that's what I intend to do."

Bypassing the Swoobat fountain, they also maneuvered around the two parked vans, with their mud-spattered rubber tires, unlawfully tinted windows, and based off Desiree's lack of concern, empty seats. The motor vehicles were a chilling sight. It was clear to him now that this group of creeps trespassing on his mother's property had done so with the purpose of kidnapping him. So, who were they? And was their leader, who was wielding a gun, telling the truth when he implied they had already abducted his mother, a powerful and nearly invincible Gym Leader?

" _She is safe_ ," he had said through a crooked grin. " _She's just…taking a little nap, that's all_."

Anxious to find answers, Lucian glanced behind him, towards his mother's rapidly shrinking mansion, and hoped that courageous Officer Jenny was holding her own in there.

As they approached the wrought iron fencing skirting the edge of the property, his pace slowed drastically. Beyond the wide open front gate lied a foreign territory.

When the brick drive ended, a winding a cement roadwork riddled with potholes and grimy puddles took its place. Incrementally placed lampposts bordered the path on either side. Juxtaposed to the lampposts were the scant survivors of a once lush forest. He could remember that mysterious and ominous place when he was a boy no older than five or six. The thought of it, and what unknown horrors dwelled within, used to make him toss and turn during the night. Now, the forest was long gone, chopped down and removed to allow for the expansion of what became a densely-populated neighborhood district.

Apartment complexes surrounded them on the right and the left. Most of the windows were dark, for most of those renting had no doubt turned in for the night. A fierce, manifold stench gripped his senses then, refusing to let go and signifying their nearing the heart of the Shining Big City.

Indeed, soon he could see it up ahead, in all of its vivid and vibrant squalor. His Fairy escort stopped at the brink of the outset. Beyond them lied a brightly lit but desolate street corner.

Noticing the grim expression on the visible half of Desiree's face, Lucian was hesitant to draw her attention but he was curious to know why. "Are we still in danger?" he asked, keeping his voice low.

"No. If there's danger, I'll warn you about it."

"Hopefully it's smooth sailing from here," he said optimistically. Crouching down next to her, he then said, in case she wasn't well aware, "By the way, I'm lucky to have a capable Pokémon like you guiding me, and protecting me."

"After your display of impotence earlier, I couldn't agree more."

"Impotence…?" He began to blush profusely. "What the heck is that supposed to mean? I'll have you know I have… no issues with that."

She shot him with a bedazzled look that mellowed quickly. "I told you to hide, and you just stood there shaking in your…" she glanced down at his feet, "…in those fluffy shoes. It was a pathetic sight to behold. No offense."

"Oh… yeah, that. Uh…" He forced a laugh, hoping it would help. It didn't. "I was… scared, alright," he admitted. "This whole ordeal is already taking a toll on me. I'm not accustomed to venturing away from the house, and I'm a novice when it comes to adapting to unexpected situations and dealing with… you know, bad guys." He swallowed audibly. "I'll be brave. I have to be. For my mother. And with these snazzy sunglasses I'll do it," he forced a grin, "for you too, Ms. Gardevoir."

Her snowy face... it reminded him of a mask. Easy on the eyes, it bothered him how frozen solid it was.

"You remind me of someone I used to know," she said. The droplets of emotion in her tone did not escape his ears.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" he responded, trying to keep his tone lighthearted and accommodating.

For the first time since they met, the strict expression she usually wore undressed to reveal a slight smile. "I suppose it's more good than bad. Scars line your heart, there is pain, but at the same time, somehow you are unsullied much like he was, when he was a boy and I was a Ralts."

"Whoa, who are you talking about? I can't read your mind like you obviously can mine…"

All too abruptly, her smile faded.

"I have not shined a light in your mind once since we've met... It's your heart. Always beating inside your chest, this close, it beats inside of my head."

Well aware of the fact that she circumvented his question, he figured it was sensitive information and elected to abstain from further prying, at least for the time-being. "So around you, I might as well wear my heart on my sleeve," he said, feeling strangely happy about it. "I can deal with that." Laughing sheepishly, he then bestowed upon her a deep bow. "Thank you by the way, for not, you know… probing my brain. Not that I have any juicy secrets or anything like that. It's just, you respect my privacy, and I appreciate it."

"I…um, of course," she said, clearly taken aback. "Are you ready to continue?"

The moment Lucian nodded, another thought came to him. "Wait a second, I have a pertinent question! Why not just teleport us there?"

She shrugged. "I can only blink short distances, and doing so with a passenger is much more draining." Her gaze flew forward. "When we're close, I suppose I can blink us up."

Lucian opened his mouth to fire away yet another inquiry, but ended up biting his tongue. _Later_ , he decided. _I'll bring it up later_.

Even this late on a rainy evening, the pulse of the city stirred. Far in the distance, the magnet train declared its arrival, a soft, melodic, if not also haunting howl. Cars, trucks, and bulky vans reminiscent of the two from earlier rumbled along the glossy streets, and the walkways bustled with umbrella wielding denizens and tourists alike.

Instead of penetrating the crowds, Lucian followed the Gardevoir into the shadows of empty alleyways. They vaulted a fence, and then another fence, before climbing the grated metal fire escape stairs of an apartment complex. Well, at least he did. She took each step without actually taking a step, instead gliding up, and then on the other side floating down, all courtesy of self-telekinesis.

Taking a direct route there, or taking the bus for that matter, would have saved them time. It was no matter. At long last, the Shining Hotel came into view. One of the most popular resorts Saffron had to offer, the Shining Hotel was two tall spires jutting from a bulky edifice with a built-in casino.

It was now or never.

"Before we go in," Lucian posed abruptly, "can we make a quick pit-stop to the Gym?"

"I don't think so, human," the Gardevoir said, tangling her smaller hand into his.

"I just want to see for myself that mother isn't there…" he said glumly.

"Forget about her, will you, and hold my hand. Don't let go."

She inhaled softly, and in an instant, they were removed from the night and the heavy rain. While his eyes painted walls and skin appreciated the immediate warmth of the indoors, his ears honed in on the Gardevoir's ragged breathing. Each breath she took sounded scratchy and painful.

Clutching her fin, she glanced up and shot him a dirty look, as if she could see his concern plain as day and wanted none of it. Victim to the incessant worries of his mother and wishing more than anything that she didn't have to be burdened by his disease, Lucian could emphasize.

"I gotta admit, this is pretty nice," he commented, pretending to be more interested in their surroundings. "What is this, the suite?"

Still out of breath, Desiree gave a few curt nods.

Lucian's eyebrows shot up. "The suite? Are you serious?" He did a lap around their room, or rooms, as the one they were in branched into another. And then several. The living room sported a billiards table as well as a wall that was also a giant television. Next door, exotic plants flourished around a pool and spa, all of which were fitted underneath elaborate solarium windows. Finally, he came to a large space with a quartet of quadrants separated not by walls, but by ionic columns and a canopy of silky curtains. In the center of each quadrant was a luxurious, king-sized mattress.

"That's where I'm going to sleep, on that one," Desiree said, pointing to the mattress situated in the top right quadrant. Still inhaling and exhaling with difficulty, at least her talking didn't require the use of her lungs. "I suppose," she pointed to mattress in the quadrant diagonal to her own, "you can sleep over on that side."

"So, that's it then?" Lucian said, unable to hide his disappointment. "We're just calling it a night?"

She shook her head no. "I am going to bathe first. You are filthy. I suggest you do the same." She frowned. "Mind you, not at the same time."

With that, she slinked into the bathroom and shut the door.

During this respite from the stubborn, uncompromising Pokémon, he tried Holocalling his mother for about the hundredth time.

Straight to voice mail.

Dismayed, he moseyed on over to the window and absorbed the view. From their nest in one of the suites, the cityscape was laid bare. Measured at 2964 ft., the Silph Co. Headquarters spire rose nearly a kilometer in the night sky. The specs of its windows twinkled like rectangular stars, as did those of the dozens of other skyscrapers and dwarfed buildings sprinkled as far as the eye could see. He strained his eyes to the northeast. The Saffron Gym was just a few kilometers in that direction. Much wider than it was tall, he knew it was probably hidden behind a few other buildings and impossible to find with the naked eye.

From behind, he heard the blowing sound of a hairdryer. A few minutes later that sound ceased, and the door finally opened. In anticipation, Lucian glanced over his shoulder. Barefoot, bare-armed, and wearing nothing save for her flimsy black gown and silver necklace, she grabbed the available spot next to him at the window.

"Have been standing there this whole time?"

His eyes returned to the view. "Maybe."

"It's your turn to clean up. Try cold water, it will quell your nerves. After that, consider getting some rest."

"I won't be able to go sleep," Lucian remarked positively.

"That's too bad," she said without a single drop of emotion. "Whatever Albina has in store for you tomorrow, I imagine you're going to need it."

Lucian chewed on his lower lip. "I…I'm sorry but… I'm going to go to the Gym…"

"I beg your pardon?"

"The Saffron Gym. I'm going there, now, right now. I just… I can't take it. I need to see for myself if she really isn't there."

"I already told you, forget about her, for tonight at least."

"Forget… about my mother?" His mind made up, he turned to the Gardevoir and, for a brief moment, reveled in his newfound ability to gaze upon a Pokémon's face. "She is the only family I've got," he said tensely, "and she needs me. I-I can feel it. I realize you don't know me, and I don't know you, not very well, not yet, but… I need your help." Reaching into his pajamas pocket, he dug out the Pokéball Albina loaned to him. Desiree's Moonball. "Will you come with me?" he asked, not bothering to hide the desperation in his voice.

In response, she glided across the room and plopped down on the bed. "Let me be blunt, human," she said, crossing her slender arms and long legs. "I just… don't care."

Behind his sunglasses, his eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

"You heard me. This quandary you find yourself in… it's a distraction and I could care less about it."

The look on her stark white face – it was completely numb and devoid of emotion. She was telling the truth. She really didn't care. Shaking his head in disbelief, Lucian turned and started to drag himself towards the exit.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I'm going to search for my mother…with your help, or without it."

When he opened the door to leave, she sprang up from the bed and rushed towards him. "Are you dense, human? I'm not going anywhere, and without any kind of escort…you cannot possibly be that stupid, can you?"

"You know," he said, deciding not to bite his tongue this time, "Gardevoir has been dubbed, the 'Embrace Pokémon.' I've read that she's patient, compassionate, affection... but you... I'd like to how can someone like _you_ could be so cold."

Desiree glared at him head-on with the frigid suns she had for eyes. "I agreed to take you to this place, where it is safe. If you insist on leaving, then I guess this is goodbye."

Grunting in disappointment, Lucian turned and left her and her frosty demeanor in his wake.

"You dunce," a flat voice echoed in his skull after he slammed the door.

 **Note: Anxious about his mother's uncertain fate, Lucian is wading into the unknown unaccompanied. What secrets will he uncover at the Saffron City Gym, and what kind of trouble is he about to get himself into? What's up with Desiree? Why is she such an Ice Queen (more of a princess), and is she really going to let Lucian go off on his own?**

 **Chapter 5 was written alongside 4. It needs some more polishing, but expect it to be out in the next few days. Alabaster will be returning as well. Thank you for reading and for your support. Please follow, favorite, and leave a review and/or feedback.**


	5. Chapter 5: The Lies Behind the Truth

**Chapter 5: The Lies Behind the Truth**

 _I probably look drunk_ , Lucian thought as he shuffled self-consciously across the carpeted casino floor. Clammy hands clenched in his pajama pockets, through the cover of his sunglasses he eyed the frustrated gamblers seated at card tables and those trying their luck with the slot machines.

Once outside, he shivered. Though the storm had finally passed and the air had become hazy, his damp clothes clung to his body like a second skin. Dithering uncomfortably at the bus stop, every minute or so he glanced over his shoulder hoping to find a Shiny Gardevoir deciding to tag along after all.

While waiting, it crossed his mind that she had that choice. A free Pokémon, her trainer that apparently wasn't actually her trainer explained. Technically, wasn't free synonymous to wild, at least as far as a Pokémon was concerned?

Boarding the bus invited unwanted attention that could not be avoided. As Lucian marched along the aisle searching for a seat, he overheard the muffled excitement of a few young female passengers.

"That guy looks ridiculous in that getup!"

"Yeah he does, but damn is he gorgeous!?"

"Agreed!"

"Hold the Holocaster… Isn't that Lucian?"

"Who?"

"You know, Lucian, the Gym Leader's kid…"

During the ride, he found the indiscreet gossip traversing the grapevine, as well as their incessant giggling, impossible to ignore.

"I heard that he was like, a psychopath or something, and that his mother had to keep him under lock and key…"

"I don't know Courtney… He's too dreamy to be a psychopath!"

When the bus came to a screeching stop at his destination, Lucian could not find the exit fast enough. Literally, because about three quarters of the commuters stood up to surf the same wave.

The points of interest rose side-by-side in stark contract. Of the two facilities, the Fighting Dojo was more impressive in stature. Its infrastructure consisted of a transparent glass that showcased precisely what it had to offer which was, of course, the blood, sweat and tears of its patrons. Trainers and Pokémon could be viewed from the outside exercising on treadmills and workout equipment, sparing with hapless punching bags, or dueling real opponents on mats and in the ring.

Lucian preferred the subdued, yet refined quality of Saffron City's official Gym.

A raucous crowd had amassed in the plaza in front of the two of buildings. He squeezed through as politely as he could.

"This sux," an adolescent boy no older than seven or eight carped. "Me and my Rattata have been Training all month to take on Sabrina! I know we can beat her!"

"I know how you feel, mon amie," someone with a thick nose, thicker muttonchops, and an even thicker Kalos accent remarked. "I voyage here all the way from Lumiose City to see some action. Rien interesting, so far." Perched on his shoulder was a Noctowl which kept twisting its head at odd angles, as if searching for a midnight meal.

"Lumiose, that's in Johto right?" the boy asked, sounding wholly uninterested. "That's pretty far I guess… hey, I know! Do you wanna Battle me and my Rattata?"

"Hehe. Battle, you? Non merci, mioche. J'ai mieux à faire."

"Was that a no? Aw, come on, don't be such a scardey-Meowth!"

"Hehehe, if you insist. Je vais te foutre en l'air!"

Sidestepping the impending battle, Lucian waded through the sea of disgruntlement and made his way to the Saffron City Gym. At the top of the stairs, Lucian counted six men and women wearing security uniforms. One of them was holding a megaphone.

"Ladies and gentleman," his announcement boomed across the plaza, "the Gym is closed until further notice. We apologize for the inconvenience. For right now, the staff urge you to go the nearest Pokémon Center. It's just down the street, along with a café I highly recommend. Or, and I can't believe I'm advertising this but, if you and your Pokémon are itching for a fight, give the Fighting Dojo next-door a try…"

"This is Tauros-shit!" someone angrily shouted next to Lucian.

"Thank you for remaining calm," the beleaguered announcer said into the loudspeaker. He had tired eyes, a heavily receding hairline ending in a brazen ponytail, and a gruesome scar that trailed down the left side of his face. Despite the nasty mark, his was a friendly face. The guy's name was Pierce. During Lucian's youth, for over a year, Pierce served as his mother's personal chauffeur.

"Weren't you listening?" Perice said, lowering the microphone as Lucian bounded up the steps two-at-a-time. "This area is off-limits…"

"Even to old friends?" he said cheekily as two guards rushed forward to bar his advance.

Pierce stroked his chin, which was lined with a faint scar. "Lucian, is that you?"

"In the flesh…"

Bushy eyebrows skyrocketing, Pierce limping forward and admonished the guards accosting the young man. Both backed off immediately.

"It took me a minute to recognize you with those sunglasses," he said, southing a mixture of genial and leery. "Awfully strange, to be wearing those things under moonlight…"

Lucian grinned. He was happy to see the old man. "It's good to see you," he said, meaning it. "Been awhile."

"That it has…" Pierce's tired eyes scanned the crowd before his interest rebounded. "Did you come all the way here, by yourself?"

Lucian nodded. "I can take care of myself."

"Spoken like a young man who thinks himself invincible. Reminds me of me actually, before grenade shrapnel fucked up my leg." He laughed.

Lucian's elation was short-lived. "Pierce… we need to talk. In private, if that's possible?" He gave the other security personnel a sidelong glance.

Clenching his jaw, Pierce turned and handed one of his employees the loudspeaker. "James, you're a smooth talker. Do what you can to placate these folks."

"Of course, Pierce, sir!" James saluted.

Pulling the corded badge pinned to the collar of his cloak, Pierce held the barcode up to a device on the wall. A green light flickered, there was a low beep, and the automated doors slid open.

"This way," he said, limping through them.

Lucian had only been to his mother's place of work maybe five or six times in his entire life. The reception hall was almost exactly as he remembered, with its high flung, vaulted ceiling and array of columns which foliated at the capitals.

What he could never have conceived of was that wide-open space being a wasteland.

Whenever he had the fortune and misfortune of accompanying his mother to the Gym, he remembered being intimidated by the aggressive-looking Trainers and their Pokémon, all of them eager to get the preliminary trials and challenges underway which, if they triumphed would culminate in their meeting Sabrina in Battle. Psychic telekinetics and professed mediums also flocked there to practice or experiment with their powers under supervision. On this night, however, the crowds were barred and the reception hall was barren.

Pierce limped to the front desk, which was not operated by an admitting representative. "You've grown a few inches since I last saw you," he said, maneuvering around the counter. "How tall are yah?"

"Six-three..." Lucian said, distracted as his eyes danced around the wasteland. "Where is everybody?"

"You saw the ingrates: outside..."

"What about the staff… has the Gym really been shut down?"

"Yes. And the regular staff have been evacuated."

"Evacuated… What's happening?"

Pierce eyed him firmly. "We're in the midst of a war, that's what happening."

Lucian's eyes bulged. "What are you talking about… Kanto and the rest of the world is at peace…"

"When regional or world wars aren't being waged, proxies fill in the gaps. We've been embroiled in a set of shadow wars for over two decades now. Seems after we finally finally weathered the One Man Army, something… far worse took his place. Far as we can tell, they're organized, and they don't take prisoners. Their preferred tactic is assassination, and they've been orchestrating hits on our Family and allies for some months." Peirce's bushy eyebrows pressed together. "I assure you, your mother is safe. We are protecting her, as we will you."

"I'm having trouble following…" Lucian said faintly. "…Who is we?"

Pierce frowned deeply, enough to cause the scar on his chin to crease. "Who do you think?"

"I have no idea…"

Frustration crossed his face then. "Take a seat, please."

Doing as he was told, the son of Sabrina pulled up a seat next to his mother's old driver, behind the front desk and in front of a black-screened computer terminal.

Steepling his fingers, Pierce asked pointedly, "You're a grown man now. Tell me, how much do you know?"

Lucian frowned. "Shadow wars, assassinations… I apologize for the ignorance but... I really haven't a clue what you're going on about."

Pierce examined him intensely. "Has she not already spilled the beans? At your age… Arceus be damned, you really are in the dark, aren't you?" He released a bellicose grunt as Lucian looked on in earnest. "Well, I can't say I'm surprised. The day Sabrina took you home from the hospital, she turned over a new leaf. I assumed the role model behavior would be short-lived, like it was an act or just a phase. Seems I was wrong."

"We're still not on the same page..."

Pierce shifted uneasily in his chair. "We all keep secrets about ourselves from our children. I've got four, three boys, and one girl. I keep a tight lid on what I do to put rice on the table, always have, but they're not naïve. My youngest is still in grade school, and even she knows her daddy lives two lives."

Lucian blinked rapidly. "What kind of secrets?" he asked, his voice shaky.

Pierce appeared just as uncomfortable. "This… is a conversation you should have had with your mother, maybe a year ago… I guess it can't be helped. She. Myself. You. We're all part of a… a large and very close-knit Family."

Lucian's jaw slackened. "…Are you saying… you're my father?"

"No, no, no, no, that's not what I'm saying – not at all!" Pierce smoothed back what little hair he had left on his head. "Listen, your mother and I work for an organization called Team Rocket. Perhaps you've heard of us."

"The Mafia," Lucian spat. He forced polite laughter. "Pierce, I don't remember you having a sense of humor."

"I don't. It's one of several things I left behind during the First Mecha War."

The austerity in Pierce's voice, and on his scarred face, was insulting. "B-but you're making a joke!" He shook his head defiantly. "A crappy one. My mother is not a criminal," he said positively, "she's a Gym Leader."

Pierce brayed with a bit of odd laughter then, as if spontaneously growing a sense of humor. "This Gym is under Team Rocket management. Has been for a long time, unbeknownst to the masses. We're not the most reputable of syndicates, I'll grant you that, but we've got a knack for survival and resurgence... Your mother was recruited almost twenty-five years ago, when she was barely a teenager. Been part of the Rocket Family long before you were even born, and she's been an important asset over the course of her… career." He shook his head in exasperation. "Don't tell me you've never once had an inkling?"

Lucian didn't, nor could he bring himself to believe any of it, and yet, at the mere accusation his eyes brimmed. Unable to speak, he could hardly breathe, let alone think. Pierce's expression barely changed when he stumbled out of his seat and frantically circled around the desk.

"You look like you're going to be sick? You should be honored," he said, rising in his seat, "to be a part of the Rocket Family."

"Where is she?" Lucian said meekly. He felt faint. "Where is my mother? Is she here?"

Peirce unlatched a Pokéball from his belt and tossed it over the desk a few feet away from where Lucian was standing. "Where ever she is, you'll be reunited soon enough," he said rather glumly.

Even with sunglasses, the brilliant flash of light was blinding. From the Ball appeared a Pokémon with a corpulent body, a wrinkly trunk, and saggy folds under beady eyes.

"It's time to go to sleep," Pierce said with a sick kindness. "Your mother will have to forgive me."

Wailing savagely, his Drowzee waved its stubby little hands in slow yet fluid circling motions.

Dazed and confused, Lucian wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but something told him to run.

"You pathetic tub of lard, what are you doing?" Pierce growled. "Did you miss him? Use Hypnosis again!" he demanded.

Adrenaline coursed Lucian's veins as he bolted towards the exit. When the automated doors opened, he pushed past the confused garrison and, sprinting down the steps, ducked into the crowd.

"Lucian, stop!" Pierce's gruff voice quaked. "…Jessie, James, don't let him get away. Bring him back here!"

In Lucian's wake, indiscernible shouting and screaming. Shoving past flummoxed spectators, he frantically made his way to the edge of the plaza. The shadows beckoned and he accepted their summons without delay. Mindful to make his path as haphazard and confusing as possible, and endowed with long legs and speed he never knew he had, the footsteps pursing him grew softer until vanishing completely.

 _I think I lost them_ , he thought, still not slowing down in the slightest.

He was wrong. When he rounded a corner, a guy in a beige trench coat sprang from his hiding spot behind a dumpster and floored Lucian across the jaw. Staggering back, the taste of iron perforated his senses.

"Surprise, mon ami!" It was the guy with the Kalos accent. "Ohh, ow, hehe I'm not sure if that hurt you more, or moi!" he said, flailing the hand that landed the blow. Then, grinning with mostly gums he thumped Lucian again with his other fist.

His attacker chortled heartedly, as if enjoying every second at another's expense. "I doubt Sabrina would be too keen about moi, how to say in your tongue, uhh… kicking your ass… Ohh, but this is too much fun!"

With one hand, he scratched vigorously at his slovenly cheeks. With the other, he winded a Pokéball back for a pitch. In the half-a-second afforded to react, too dazed to try and dodge Lucian braced for impact. The fastball was right on target. Striking him in the ribcage, it knocked the wind out of him, and knocked him off his feet, too.

"Ohh, that looked extremely painful!"

The worst was yet to come. A knotted tree-like Pokémon sprang from the device, its size and girth alone enough to make even the most intrepid soul scream. Spidery roots jutted from its base, stilted legs that skittered as it moved. A crooked crown of gnarls sat on its head, and a cavity carved in its misshapen face was fitted with an unblinking, bloodshot eye. It exhibited two mouths, the first where one might expect, and the second a gaping gash carved, of all places, inside its gut. Lined with teeth of varied shapes, it's slavering second mouth chomped eagerly, perhaps at the sight of a delicious snack.

"Trevor, are you letting fun cloud your judgement?" Pierce hobbled into the picture. James and a female security guard with eccentric scarlet hair shadowed him. "Lucian is an asset of Team Rocket. I told you to find him and bring him back, _unspoiled_."

"I don't take orders from Team Rocket, you old fart," the Kalos native sneered. Apparently, his name was Trevor.

"You take orders from Lysandre," Pierce said chidingly, "who in turn takes orders from my Boss, Giovanni. I doubt either will be pleased to hear Captain Sabrina's son was injured, and that one of your Monsters is to blame."

"I was just having a little bit of fun," Treavor said, his voice cracking slightly. "Just scaring the garcon, that's all. My bark-armored Ghost won't digest him, it'll just, carry him snugly inside its belly, hehe."

"Lucian will come with us, walking on his own two feet," Peirce maintained. He extended a hand to the young man.

"I hope this isn't a private party…"

A woman in a black dress suddenly crouched down next to him. That was Lucian's initial impression, at least. "Desiree?" he said, coming to his senses. One amber eye glued to him, the other hid behind her veil of azure Garde-bangs.

"Now that's an exquisite beast I'd like to have my way with," the man with the Kalos accent said with a hungry expression on his face. "Oui, oui, does this thing belong to you?"

"That's not possible," Pierce remarked. "He doesn't train any Monsters."

Desiree folded her hands over one of Lucian's, which clutched at his bruised ribs. "Let's get you out of here," she said, her voice alone enough to calm him down. Within the next instant, Pierce, Treavor, and the vicious Trevenant were gone.

"Where… are we?" Lucian asked. Overhead, dark clouds partially eclipsed a crescent moon.

"Where did they go?" Pierce's voice echoed somewhere not very far off; somewhere down below.

"They can't escape moi," the Kalos accent hollered. "I'll find them!"

"We need to get as far away from them as possible," the Gardevoir said, still holding onto him.

She teleported them again, and again, and several more times in a relentless display of her Psychic prowess. Pale moonlight shined overhead as they _flew_ along the rooftops of tall buildings. Still holding hands, hers would have shaken abrasively like leaves if not for Lucian's steadying them.

"Desiree… You look exhausted."

"I'm okay, human, don't you dare worry about me."

"You can't save me twice in one day and not expect me to give a damn when the tables are turned…" His vision blurry, with his arm he gave their lofty surroundings a scan. "I think we lost them. Let's just rest for another minute or two, alright?"

Her head stooping, her mask fell to reveal a face flushed with anguish. Each pain-induced moan was short and hoarse. "Okay, a brief respite… but only because you need it too," she murmured. Releasing his hand, she leaned over him and wiped his cheek with a hand enwreathed in satin. "Just so you know, you're bleeding..."

His lip busted, Lucian licked the inside of his mouth in awe. "Yeah, that crazy guy sucker punched me. Uh… you sure you want to stain your glove?"

"I don't care about that…" She wiped his face again. "It's not just your lip, by the way. You're bleeding from your tear ducts."

"I am?" Rubbing at his itchy eyes, he looked down and gasped. Under pale moonlight, his hands and fingers glistened with fresh blood. Much of what transpired was a blur he yet needed to sort through. Somewhere along the way, however, he must have lost the special glasses gifted to him by Officer Albina.

Without them, his allergies were flaring.

More than a few minutes ticked by. During the respite, Lucian stared up at the moon anxiously. It was true that he missed those sunglasses. However, it was not this misfortune that plagued his contemplations. That was trivial compared to the revelation that his mother, his hero and the only person he ever loved, and who loved him, was a criminal. And not just some kleptomaniac. The mob was not known for petty crimes and misdemeanors.

The unknown gnawed at his mind like a swarm of insects.

Not completely lost in his thoughts, he squinted. He could have sworn something small sailed past the pale of the moon, before disappearing from view under cover of stygian darkness.

"Desiree," he said warily, "I think we have company…"

Propped up next to him against air-conditioning equipment, head buried in her lap and hands cradling her knees beneath the fabric of her gown, she released a pitiful, if not also rather cute, sigh. "I know," she said.

Indistinct shouting perforated close by. Muffled by the walls, they sounded like a hunting party searching for a rare Pokémon. Following the rattling of metal, the door to the roof of the building swung open.

Spearheading the hunt was the man in the beige trench coat with the slovenly cheeks. Pierce, James, and the woman with a scarlet coiffure shadowed him. Swooping overhead, a Noctowl landed on Treavor's outstretched arm and fluttered proudly. "Très bien, ma feathery beast," he said, praising it. Grinning with mostly gums on display, the Kalos native looked Lucian dead in the eyes and boasted, "I told you I would find him!"

"Well go get him," Pierce said, "and while you're at it, do us all a favor and capture that Shiny Gardevoir."

"Ohh, I'll do more than capture it!" Trevor said, licking his lips.

Without further delay, he hurled a Pokéball which landed precariously close to Lucian's feet.

Reeling back, he knew what was coming. Twisted branches for arms and spidery roots for legs sprouted from a gargantuan tree trunk with grotesque hollows.

Getting to her feet, Desiree's high heel stiletto boots ascended a few inches into the air with what appeared to be minimal effort. Hands hanging elegantly by her sides and fists unclenched, her confident combat stance was marred only by her audible breathing.

"Engage the putain!" Trevenant's brutal trainer commanded. "Sans pitié, make it suffer now, and I'll make it suffer later!"

At the behest of its master, the malformed tree attacked. Swinging wildly with one knotted claw, it jabbed maliciously with the other in an attempt to impale its foe. That foe being Desiree. All Lucian could do was wince in horror during every attempt. For a Pokémon as diminutive as a Gardevoir, and her being of the fairer sex at that, a landed blow would maim and mutilate her.

Apropos of speed, neither Gardevoir nor Gallade were known for theirs. Research showed that the average adult human could run every bit as fast, or slow, as the average adult Gauldavoir, whether they were on foot or moving via levitation. Desiree was not the average Gardevoir. Lucian could barely follow her movements as she successfully evaded every attempt on her life and expertly counterattacked.

In frustration, and possibly due to more than a few landed kicks to the head, the Trevenant charged, dual jaws crunching voraciously.

Propelling herself with a burst of telekinesis, she adroitly took to the air and flipped up and over the attack. Landing gracefully behind her opponent, she did not squander the opportunity. With a forward hand gesture, she struck the air out in front of her.

Not just the air. Her strike was not physical in nature. It was a Psychic _Push_ that flung the vulnerable Trevenant clean off the roof. Plunging to the depths, it released an abhorrent howl that prickled the hairs on the back of Lucian's neck.

Hurrying to the edge, he peered down to the alleyway below. It was too dark to see anything. Either way, the battle was over. The Gardevoir had won.

"Lucian!" Garnering the young man's attention, Pierce shoved past Trevor, who looked stunned in defeat, and limped onto the moonlit battlefield.

"Get back," Desiree warned with the same hand gesture she used to shove her opponent like a ragdoll.

Pierce ignored the Pokémon's warning, focusing instead on Lucian. "You don't own any Monsters," he said knowingly. "You never have. So, what are you doing with this… golden-eyed Monster warrior? Who does it belong to, or is it feral?"

When Desiree spoke, somehow Lucian knew her telepathic words penetrated his mind only. "These are foul humans," she said, sounding vexed which was unlike her. "How did you get mixed up with their ilk?"

"–Answer me, son!" Pierce demanded. He gritted his teeth. "Are you listening? Focus! You are in danger. There's bad actors out there, men and women, and their Monsters who mean you grave harm. This… thing might be one of them. But, if you come with me, I can guarantee your safety and you'll be reunited with your mother."

Tempted by his promise, Lucian took an uncertain step forward.

"If you go with him," Desiree said rather dolefully, which was most unlike her, "you'll probably never see me again..."

"Lucian, I've known you since you were a kid," Pierce said with now open arms. "I was your mother's personal chauffer for over a year. I know you're confused… Trevor here has made a really poor impression, but you can trust me."

"He's lying," the Gardevoir's telepathy cautioned. "I caught a glimpse of his truth, bubbling at the surface. He spied on your mother... She had a major falling-out with their mutual employer, Team Rocket… and his appointment, if you can call it that, ended only after she was granted a reprieve. You should know that he never ceased spying on her, or you, not completely. Only, in the ensuing years, he was ordered to be discreet."

Armed with newfound knowledge, Lucian was quick to put pieces of puzzle in places that seemed to fit. "I think I get it…" he said quietly, and confidently.

"Get what?"

"Why my mother got tangled up in this mess. The Mafia is notorious for racketeering, Pokémon trafficking, and… coercing good people into doing bad things." He looked at Desiree who, looking back at him, nodded in support of his theory.

"So, seems you are in the know… playing dumb earlier, eh?" Rather precipitously, Peirce's tone became full of spite. "Did your mother also tell you about how she betrayed our Family, and the unprecedented clemency handed to her on a silver platter? She kept her rank, her job, her house… she even got to keep raising you."

Lucian took a few steps forward, though this time he was looking at Pierce in a whole new light. "Where is she? Tell me!"

He shrugged. "I'm just a driver," he said almost mockingly. "They don't tell me squat."

Lucian turned to Desiree and, cupping his hands against her cheek horns, whispered, "Is he, you know, Tauros-shitting us?"

Pulling away from his foreign touch, she shot him with a disapproving look before answering. "As far as I can tell, he really doesn't know where she is–"

"–Trevor," Pierce said suddenly, "you're up!"

"Oui!" he said, more animated than ever before, "My second wind! Noctowl, target the Fairy! Put that putain into a deep sleep using your hypnosis!"

Out of the corner of his eye, Lucian spotted it once again. Soaring up above, it folded its wings and divebombed directly towards them.

"Look out!"

Maybe the owl's Hypnotic energy would have been off the mark. Or perhaps the Gardevoir would have avoided the attack. With her reflexes, she probably would have. Nonetheless, Lucian jumped in front of her and took it. Silent wings flapping swiftly, the owl Pokémon hovered just a few feet away, watching and waiting. When nothing happened, its bulging eyes bulged yet further, as if spooked by its prey's resilience. On a dime, it hastily flapped its wings and zipped over between its speechless master's ankles and fluttered.

"...How are you still standing, mon ami?" Trevor finally bemoaned.

"That was a direct hit," Pierce agreed, his usually droopy eyes popping.

A three-fingered hand cuffed Lucian firmly around the wrist, and a slender arm wrapped around his waist.

"Now's our chance. Let's get out of here." She guided him to the edge of the roof. Peering down at a dark street corner, within an instant, they were removed from pale moonlight and transposed to the very spot he had been assessing. Lying in a mess of broken branches nearby was the Trevanant. Having survived the fall, it thrashed about feebly alongside the foundation of the apartment building.

"We need to make sure we're not followed," Desiree told him. Even though her hand was still wound tightly around his, she glanced behind her as if to make sure he was still there.

"I'm with you," Lucian said through a grimace. Without those sunglasses, making eye contact with her made his head throb. Tailing her, his vision settled on the round curvature of her ass. Somehow, the view of the Gardevoir's backside made him feel better.

"How did you do that?"

"Uh, how did I d-do what?" Lucian stammered guiltily.

She glanced over her shoulder. "Resist the night owl's spell?"

"Ah, that…" He ran his free hand through his long hair. "…Yeah, I dunno. I think the same thing happened earlier, with a Drowzee. Maybe I have insomnia."

On the way to the Shining Hotel, Lucian summoned the courage to ask about her teleportation ability. To his surprise, she was actually forthcoming about it. For starters, she was limited in the distance she could instantaneously travel. Doing so with, as she described, a "passenger," further limited how far she could blink. It was also, as Lucian had seen firsthand, much more draining of her stamina. She could also blink in places that she could not see in the moment, but had seen beforehand and could picture in her near-photographic memory. However, to do so was imprecise and thus dangerous.

"Shall I take us up?" she asked when they crept alongside the base of the Shining Hotel.

Her asking permission gave Lucian the impression she might prefer an alternative. It crossed his mind that he could recall her and make his way up with her tucked surreptitiously away in his pocket. Then he remembered what Albina had told him, that for whatever reason, Desiree wasn't fond of Pokéballs.

"Let's try something else."

They scoped out the foyer. Once the coast looked clear, they sneaked inside and successfully made their way to the elevators unnoticed. Going up, their ride didn't stop until they reached the floor to their suite.

Once inside, the Gardevoir plopped down on her bed.

"By the way… thanks for stalking me," Lucian dared mention as she peeled off her black satin gloves.

"What do you mean?"

"You couldn't have made that timely rescue if you didn't care…" he pointed out.

"You keep thinking that."

He noticed the stains on her gloves. "Ah, yeah, sorry about bleeding all over you…"

"I'm used to the sight of blood," she answered curtly.

"Because you're a girl?" He gulped as she looked at him, unamused. "That… just kind of came out. My bad."

Unfastening one of her stilettoed high heel boots, she wiggled it off her porcelain foot. "I was a fifteen-year-old Kirlia when the Second Mecha War broke out," she said, staring down at her feet. "Amour, my homeland, was bombed from the air before human troops invaded on the ground. My family just barely escaped the occupation of our castle. I joined the resistance as a medic, but after my older brother was wounded and... died days later, I took his place on the frontlines." She met Lucian's gaze with gibbous eyes. "So, I'm not afraid of a little blood," she said callously.

With the flick of her wrist, she ended their exchange by drawing the curtains dividing her quarter of the room.

* * *

Lucian took a shower. A cold one. His eyes were on fire, and something hot and vicious writhed inside his skull. After washing his mop of hair, and cleaning his other areas, he stood under the cold stream and let the water rinse his senses.

There was a lot on his mind. The numbing water helped, but it wasn't enough. Feeling more furious than he could remember, he absentmindedly punched the wall beside him until his fist screamed for him to take note and stop. His mother and her pretty much confirmed involvement with the mob disturbed his thoughts. Desiree dominated them.

A series of sounds intruded on his reveries. It crept beyond the wall he had just pummeled. It sounded like footsteps and muffled voices.

Hastily drying himself off, he wrapped his lower half in a towel and stepped outside to confront the Mafia, or housekeeping, whoever it was.

He froze. Draped in an alluring kimono was a tan-faced woman with cascading tresses every bit as silver and silken as that of her garb. A Pokémon with a golden-white fur coat sat on its haunches at her feet, its throng of tails swaying elegantly as if caught in a modest gale. Behind them, standing firm and looking stern was a mountain of a man in a monochromatic black suit, cowboy hat, and sunglasses.

"Lucian, how good it is to see you again," Albina said. Waving at him and smiling warmly, her piercing eyes glowed red.

* * *

 **Translations:**

 **mon amie: my friend**

 **Rein: Nothing**

 **Non merci: No thanks**

 **Mioche: Boy**

 **J'ai mieux à faire: I have better things to do**

 **Je vais te foutre en l'air: I will fuck you up**

 **Très bien: Very good**

 **Putain: Whore**

 **Sans pitié: No remorse**

* * *

 **Note: Lucian has a lot on his plate. He's needs find his mother and save her from Team Rocket, that is, if she even needs saving. To his shock and shame, she is a member of the Mafia. What really happened to her, both in the past and present?**

 **Pierce mentioned that Team Rocket has allies, as well as powerful enemies. Who are they? Furthermore, what are these 'Shadow Wars' and who was the 'One Man Army' he alluded to?**

 **Most importantly, how is Lucian going to deal with Desiree's past and improve his relationship with her? We now know she fought in a war, the Second Mecha War which ravaged the Kingdom of Amour and stole the life of her beloved older brother. More on that later, of course. What are her goals now, why does she claim not to 'care,' and how did Albina (aka Lady Apollyon) earn her trust?**

 **Regarding Albina, Einstein, and Alabaster, they each have their own motivations and are important pieces on the board. Are they good, bad, or somewhere in between? It should be noted that Albina and Lucian have something in common. Both of them, as she revealed earlier, are gifted and cursed with the embrace of the Dark.**

 **Thank you for reading this latest installment. I enjoyed putting it together, and I hope you enjoyed reading it. Please follow, favorite, and review. It goes a long way.**

 **Take care, and stay tuned!**


	6. Chapter 6: Starter Pokémon

**Chapter 6: Starter Pokémon**

Sweeping silver hair streamed down Officer Albina's back. With her silken mane and the alluring kimono enwreathing her voluptuous figure, all she needed was a pair of wings and Lucian swore she would be an angel.

"You look like you've seen a Ghost," she told him.

"I did… earlier," he whispered. At least his mouth was working.

"Yes, Desiree here was just telling me all about it…"

Leaning against the wall with her arms folded and one small pale foot crossed over the other was the Gardevoir in the black dress. Her eyes met his and lingered for an extensive second, until hers broke away.

"…I'm so sorry," Albina said, retrieving his attention, "you had to find out about your mother's illicit activities in that way. Einstein and I were going to show you the warrant for her arrest, until your home was raided by those goons."

"A warrant?" Time seemed to stand still while he processed that information. He shook his head. "...You mean, all along you Officers knew she was in Team Rrrock…?" Still coming to grips with the shameful news, he couldn't bring himself to say it.

"Sabrina is a primary suspect in our investigation, and I'm afraid there is quite the litany of evidence we have compiled against her," Albina further explained to his shock. Somehow, she was able to throw on an assuaging smile. "Desiree was telling us something interesting, though. Something about a Driver. Pierce, I think you said was his name."

Lucian's heart skipped a beat. "Desiree..." When he said her name her eyes latched back onto his. "What exactly were you telling them?"

Thrust into the spotlight, the Gardevoir looked tense. "I was telling them most of what I already told you, until you stormed in here and interrupted me," she said in a scolding tone. "I imagine now is a good time to finish." Straightening her slender form against the wall, her eyes wavered. "Pierce was spying on Sabrina and reporting her every move to his superiors. It's clear Team Rocket didn't trust her. What isn't clear is why Sabrina was involved with their ilk in the first place. I believe it's possible Team Rocket was using him... Lucian... as a hostage of sorts to force his mother into doing their bidding."

For a drawn-out moment, Lucian's eyes remained steady and unblinking on her blue veil of hair and snowy-white face. He was grateful to her for saying that. On top of that, he agreed wholeheartedly. "That would explain why they're so obsessed with me," he said, surprised by the calmness in his voice. "If the Mafia threatened to hurt me, or heck, straight-up kill me, unless my mother helped them, she would do it. If she thought they could make good on that threat, she would be at their beck and call..."

Albina stroked her chin. "Duress, huh? Hmmm, if we could obtain evidence your mother was under duress, that would change everything in this case."

"Would the criminal charges brought against her be dropped?" he asked hopefully.

"I can't make any promises on that end," she said, mirroring his optimistic tone. "Let's just say that in the courtroom, proof of duress wouldn't hurt."

Lucian opened his mouth to ask another question, but before he could even get a word off Desiree's telepathy pounced.

"Okay, you're all welcome to stay up and chit-chat until dawn if that's what suits you. At any rate, I've had enough conversation for today. Keep your voices to a minimum, please and thank you... I bid all of you, goodnight."

"It is late…" Lucian agreed, yawning and stretching his aching muscles.

"It's nearly three in the morning you moron," Desiree lashed out, her already gibbous-sized eyes wide with random fury.

"Alright, so it's early! Jeez, you don't have to be bipolar about it…" he shot back.

"Play nice you two," Albina chided teasingly. Giggling, she clasped her hands together – making a sharp _clap_ – and then bowed deeply. "We ladies need our beauty sleep, don't we, Dez? We get cranky, otherwise."

Like his female counterpart, Einstein too bowed.

Even Alabaster the Ninetails followed their example, stooping down so that his slender muzzle grazed the floor. "We art always honored by thine presence, Your Highness," Lucian heard him say telepathically. "May the Light side of the Moon watch over thee."

In response to the flock of well wishes, Desiree bobbed a curt bow of her own.

"Your Highness…" Lucian muttered under his breath, unsure if it was an inside joke between them. Watching the agitated Pokémon float away, he wanted to say something that would leave a positive impression. "Hey, Desiree!" he called out.

She glanced over her cold shoulder. "This better be important. What is it?"

"I uh, erm…" fumbling with what to say and how to say it, he felt his face burn and eyes sting as auto pilot took over. "Uh… Sleep tight, and don't let the bed bugs bite… especially any dual Bug-Poison types, there's a lot of those crawling around and they're extra dangerous for you…"

She blinked a couple of times. "Sage advice. Thanks."

Lucian wanted to bang his head against the wall. The Ninetails departed when she did to a curtained enclosure of his very own. A bloated burlap sack slung over his shoulder, Einstein disappeared behind another curtain.

That left Lucian alone with the woman in white. Feeling embarrassed by his crass comment to the Fairy Pokémon, he aimed to revert his focus. "Officer Jen– err, Albina..." his voice cracked, "…What happened to your navy police hair?"

"That was just a wig. This is the real me." Grinning with perfect pearls bordered by scarlet lipstick, she tugged on the silvery tresses spilling down her shoulder as proof it was real.

Stupefied, he looked her up and down. "Are you even an Officer Jenny?"

"It's been a long day for me," she responded, expertly dodging his question. "I know it has been a long and grueling night for you. Desiree has the right idea. Let's talk more when we're not on the verge of collapse.

"Yeah… alright, that's a good point. Uh… can I ask you one quick question?"

"Can it not wait?"

Lucian shook his head adamantly. "Really quick, just one question. It's about your Gardevoir."

"Desiree is not my Gardevoir."

"I know that!" he squawked. "Force of habit. But still, you and her are close…"

"She is like a sister to me."

"A Pokémon, your sister…" He almost coughed up a storm of laugher, but seeing the sober expression painted over her face, one that also demanded he get on with his point, he throttled the urge. He then cleared his throat, as if preparing to give an extemporaneous speech, and keeping his voice low said, "Today turned out to be the worst and best day of my life. I can see why Desiree is important to you. She's… a little rough around the edges," stifling a laugh, he grunted and became very serious again. "She is nothing short of incredible, Albina. Spending these few hours with her... made me feel alive for the first time in years. Can you just make sure that she knows I appreciate everything? Her saving my life on more than one occasion. Her putting up with me." His eyes meandered. "Above everything else, tell her I hope she's happy. Everyone deserves to find happiness in life, not just human beings, but Pokémon too…"

About halfway through his longwinded request, a quizzical expression washed over Albina's face. "You really are quite taken by her, huh?" she said after he was finished.

He nodded like it was no secret. "She's everything I imagined a Pokémon would be and more."

"If that is the case, shouldn't you be the one to tell her that pile of mush?"

Picturing Desiree's many conceivable reactions to hearing him express his feelings about her, he allowed himself to smile as he held on to a few of his favorite versions. "Yeah, you're right. I should. I just wasn't sure if I'd have the chance to talk to her again."

"We're not going anywhere, you silly Zangoose!" She threw Lucian a slightly coquettish grin that made him suddenly very self-conscious that there was a towel wrapped around his waist and nothing else.

"I'm going to finish up in the bathroom," he said, doing an about-face, "and then it's all yours, if you need it. By the way, Albina. I'm in your debt."

"Just doing my job," she said in her honeyed tone. "Now hurry up and let's both grab some sleep. The dark of this night is eager to weave lucid dreams for us."

After getting dressed in his unbecoming pajama clothes, he worried his veins were coursing with too much adrenaline to fall asleep. He tried counting Mareep, but there was far too much plaguing his mind for that to work. Letting his mind wander off its leash, instead of losing his sanity over his mother's criminality, he found himself preoccupied with Officer Albina. Her wild head of silky hair, her unbelievable smile, her plump breasts. She was everything he wanted in a woman, physically at least. He wondered if she was single.

For whatever reason, his mind wandered again. Where it landed, this time it stayed put.

Hours ago, he met his very first Pokémon, a pale-skinned, sylphlike creature with delicate facial features, amber eyes, and wearing a black dress. More recently, there was an exchange they had that did not sit well with him. Maybe that was why he couldn't stop revisiting it in his head. Revisiting it, and revising it.

When she opened up to him about blood, war, and the loss of someone she did _care_ about, he imagined himself holding her in his arms and whispering vague words in her spikey ear that realistically probably wouldn't carry much weight, but in his head provided some amount of temporary comfort to her. Her bangs pressed against his chest as he held her close was the last thing he remembered before dozing off.

* * *

Desiree experienced difficulty falling asleep. Once she finally did, she found it difficult to stay that way. She blamed the newcomer to their party of oddballs and misfits. Through the paper-thin curtain walls, she could hear the human in the enclosure diagonal to her own, mumbling quite stridently in his sleep.

Her eardrums at the mercy of his somniloquy, she tossed and turned until finally giving up.

Venturing out of her curtained enclosure, it appeared she was the first one up save for Alabaster the Ninetails who, being who he was, had never naturally fallen asleep in his centuries-old life. Without saying a word to him, she treated herself to an apple. More than anything, she craved the warmth of a cigarette. _Later_ , she thought while munching on the far inferior fruit. Her fin swelled in anticipation.

After breakfast, she fled the scene to the solarium.

Through the glass encasing, morning warmth caressed her skin but the sun itself could not be seen through the dense smog that blanketed the city in a steely gray. An ugly view, it was rather appropriate, she thought, for a city mired in filth and corruption.

Assuming a lotus position in front of the pool and spa, she proceeded to meditate.

"Princess," an ancient voice threaded through her thoughts, "Thou art up early."

Desiree peeked in the direction of the furry interloper. "You know you don't have to call me that, Alabaster…" she reminded the Ninetails for about the tenth time that week.

"And thou knowest I am a loyal supporter of the Crown," he said, sounding sly though his telepathy bathed in what she knew to be the purest truth. "I see before me the Princess of the Amour Realm, and I would be remiss not to refer to her as such." Sitting on his haunches beside her, his tails swayed feverishly. "I also see thou art meditating. If I give my word that I shall refrain from yapping, may I join thee?"

Trying to think of a polite way to turn him away, she couldn't provide an immediate answer. Luckily, her reluctance seemed to send the right message. "Forgive the intrusion," he said, his tails growing limp, "and prithee, think no more of my asking. This is an opportunity for thee to sort thine thoughts."

With that, he excused himself.

An hour of meditation without interruption – after her draining escapade with Lucian and his unconscious rambling during the early morning hours, it was just what she needed. Ironically, she spent this time thinking about him, the human whose mind was as dark and mysterious as the cosmos.

She could not deny his cryptic nature lent him a rather fascinating air.

Footsteps resonated from behind. Unable to sense who they belonged to, she knew it had to be either The Fair Lady, Apollyon, or the Dark Human, Lucian as he was called.

The former, to her relief.

"Wait here, dearest," she overheard a honeyed voice say to Einstein the Ditto, who rarely ever left her side. "I wish to speak to Desiree, alone."

Dressed in white, Apollyon folded up in an asana pose beside Desiree who was dressed in black. They were close, so close that their knees, swathed in disparity, almost touched. Curious, Desiree gave her Moon Sister a sidelong glance all the while waiting and wondering.

"You look tired," The Fair Lady exhaled at last, her fiery eyes closed shut.

"I did not sleep well," Desiree admitted. Looking away, she stared straight ahead.

"Then you are distracted. I sense it is our pet human, slumbering in the next room?"

There was no point in denying her sixth-sense. "It's as if his thoughts are swimming beneath a lake of murky water," Desiree said as her gaze fell on the pristine blue of the pool and spa. "No matter how many times I try, I cannot make out anything below the surface. It's very... frustrating! Oh, and like I already told you, he resisted a hypnosis spell. Two, actually, if I am to take him at his word."

"His Dark aura shields him from rays of Psychic Light," Apollyon explained evenly. "Even a source as bright and focused as yours will find his mind to be impregnable."

Desiree yet found it hard to believe, even though he was living proof. "I've never heard of any human who was capable of wielding the Dark."

"This one is quite remarkable, isn't he?"

Aside from Red and N, it was unheard of for The Fair Lady to have anything positive to say about any members of the human species. Desiree was too curious to let this change of heart go. "Is that why you asked me to bring him here? Because you see something good in him?"

Frowning, Apollyon got to her feet and gracefully strode over to the broad solarium windows. Her back turned as she gazed out at the manmade spires and industrial haze, she said in a tone which showed clear distaste, "What I see is a weapon of untold potential. N is always searching for new Apostles, especially in young, idealistic humans who share his vision for a sovereign nation of Pokémon. Who better to help make his dream become a reality than a specimen so singular, let alone the progeny of one of our sworn enemies?"

Desiree couldn't believe her hears. "So what are you saying, that you're going to ask him to join us?" she said, attempting a joke. When the mischief she was anticipating did not spring, she realized her sister was gravely serious. "But he hasn't been properly vetted," she stressed, choosing her words carefully, "nor can he be. His mind is too... Dark."

"Where you cannot shine a Light into his mind, you can pierce his heart. Isn't that right?"

Peering sightlessly out in front of her, she reminisced of the warmth radiating from his core.

"Tell me, is he vulnerable?" Apollyon asked, expecting an answer.

"He is inexperienced and… very trusting of others," Desiree admitted at last.

"He trusts you," Apollyon said knowingly, "which is why I have a new assignment for you."

"A new assignment…" Desiree didn't like the sound of that. Unfolding from her lotus position, she slowly came to her Moon Sister's side.

"Remind me, why did we come to Kanto?"

"To fight the corruption that plagues this land," Desiree said with certainty.

"To end it," Apollyon promptly corrected her. "This is war, Desiree. A war we will win in due time. Unfortunately, it would appear our enemies are more perceptive than I anticipated, which is why we need to split up. While you and Lucian work on locating that _rotten_ witch Sabrina, I can begin the hunt for Lieutenant Surge."

Desiree's already pale face blanched further. "But you need a Psychic guide, don't you? That's what you said when you asked me to come with you..."

"I have Einstein and his many forms. You need not worry about us. We will be just fine."

Truth be told, Desiree wasn't worried about them, not at all. "So, you're just going to hand me over to him, to the human? Rather, you insist upon it?"

"I hope I don't have to insist, dear," Apollyon said while examining her claws. Unsheathed, they were black as midnight on a moonless night, and sharp as knives. "Alabaster requested to tag along, a request I granted. So it will be the three of you. Is there a problem?"

 _Of course there is sister,_ Desiree wished she could summon the audacity to scream at the top of her telepathic lungs, for this was a road she had gone down before. Shaking her head, she said with a meek sarcasm, "No, no, of course not. So, how should I act while on stage… do I play the part of _his_ Pokémon and refer to him as _my_ Trainer? Am I supposed to be funny and pert and embrace him every time he is happy or sad-"

Without warning, Apollyon trapped Desiree in a hug. Creeping north, Desiree felt the foreign touch mesh with her hair, and in the next moment, dagger-like fingers began to explore its exquisite contours. "Conduct yourself however you see fit," she said as Desiree wilted stiffly inside her embrace. "Whatever it takes, to wrap him around your little finger."

Upon being released from her sister's unforeseen hug, Desiree felt drunk. The world around her was spinning. She swore she was on the verge of throwing up.

"I have a secondary task for you," Apollyon told her drunkenness. "I want you investigate the depths of his latent Darkness. If you uncover anything of interest concerning his mother or his abilities, report your findings directly to me. Do you understand?"

In that moment of pointless hesitation, it crossed the Gardevoir's mind that she was the daughter of a King and Queen. Swallowing her pride and letting resentment die, she submitted to the will of another as she had throughout most of her life. "I understand," she said with little emotion as she worked on regaining her balance. "I will not disappoint you, sister."

Crimson satisfaction stared back at her. "You accept whatever comes your way without objection, don't you? That's what I like most about you. Now, follow my lead. We're going to pay our pet human a visit and inform him of the good news."

"Good news?" Desiree echoed.

"He's never trained a Pokémon before, right? From a certain point of view, that means you're going to be his Starter!"

 **Note: Lucian is a human with Dark powers he has confused for allergies. Desiree is a telepathic Gardevoir and a lonely Princess. Henceforth, they will be going on a journey to find and "rescue" Sabrina, who vanished one fateful night. Traveling together across Kanto and abroad, they will uncover mysteries in the world around them, as well as mysteries surrounding each other. What will happen when their relationship morphs into something neither of them could have expected?**

 **Thank you for reading. Please follow, favorite, and review. It goes a long way.**


End file.
